Photo: Coolspotters.com
Katie’s got to be relieved right about now. Her once ill-fated eight-part miniseries, The Kennedys, has finally found a home: ReelzChannel. The Dawson’s Creek alum plays the former first lady Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming miniseries, which the History Channel unexpectedly kicked to curb before it aired. The pickup comes nearly a month after being abruptly dropped from History which also stars Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy–citing that the finished product “did not fit the History channel brand.”
A multimillion-dollar project developed by 24 co-creator Joel Surnow, The Kennedys drew ire from the political left and some Kennedy historians. A former Kennedy adviser even called an early version of the script “vindictive” and “malicious” in a front-page New York Times story last February. The network later said the script had been revised and vetted by experts. After it was left for dead by History, producers shopped the miniseries to others, including Showtime, Starz and FX, which all passed. In comes Showtime CEO Matt Blank, a friend of ReelzChannel CEO Stan Hubbard, who reached out to him after watching the miniseries and actually liking it, but concluding that it wasn’t a fit for Showtime. After viewing the miniseries, Hubbard jumped at the chance to snatch it up. “One of the benefits of being an independent network is that you can be an independent voice and you don’t have to worry about corporate pressure or political pressure,” Hubbard said. “This is a project that deserves to be seen.” The first two episodes will reportedly air Sunday, April 3, with the remaining six to air on successive nights that week.
Katie’s Jackie is highly anticipated by the critics and rest assured we’ll hear about it, one way or another. In the meantime, she’s looking retro-chic in these 70’s-inspired round oversized sunglasses–a style genre that’s red hot and happening for Spring. –rpuccia
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