Monday, January 10, 2011

HISTORY UN-CHANNELED

The History Channel was supposed to show a mini-series about the Kennedy family starring Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes, Barry Pepper, and Tom Wilkinson. It was produced by Joel Surnow of '24' fame and known for his ultra-conservative views, which - according to rumors - heavily slanted the perspective of the mini-series. And that caused a lot of protests before the filming had even begun. (Former speechwriter Ted Sorenson claimed to have seen an early draft of the script and condemned it.)

On Friday, the History Channel made this announcement:

"Upon completion of the production of 'The Kennedys,' History has decided not to air the eight-part miniseries," the network said in a statement, adding that "while the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in its totality, we have concluded this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand."

I'm sure eventually the project will find a new home. This same situation happened when CBS tried to broadcast a mini-series about the Reagans and conservatives protested. Eventually it showed up on Showtime (which I believe is a CBS ancillary.)

BCnU!

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