Netflix May Have Finally Found The American Answer To The Crown

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Peter Morgan's "The Crown" was a true jewel for Netflix. Over six gripping, juicily entertaining seasons, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon" charted the ascent of Queen Elizabeth II. He didn't skimp on the palace intrigue (indeed, he might've invented some of his own) or the heartbreak (most notably the death of Diana Spencer), and the show was richly rewarded with 11 Primetime Emmy Awards (including two for Morgan). Most importantly, it was one of Netflix's most consistently popular shows and a reliable generator of social media chatter.

When "The Crown" concluded in 2023, there was speculation as to how the streamer would fill the royal-watching void left by the series' absence. Would it venture back in time and cover another era? There's no shortage of drama in, say, previous eras, but many of these periods have been done to death in film and television. Something quasi-contemporary felt right, but the drama roiling Buckingham Palace at the moment is too current. We need to sit back and let this all play out.

While we wait, who's to say we need to focus on an official "royal" family? Skip across the pond to the United States, and you can name several clans that have impacted the world both politically and economically — and these families do not lack for scandal or tragedy.

So, it's no surprise that Netflix is teaming with Chernin Entertainment on a series based on the Kennedys. Titled, quite simply, "Kennedy," the eight-episode first season will focus on the ruthless rise of Joe (played by Michael Fassbender) and Rose Kennedy, as well as their nine children, particularly John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who would grow up to be elected President of the United States in 1960.

Excited? Wait until you get a load of the talent involved.

Based on Frederik Logevall's book, "JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917 — 1956", it sounds like "Kennedy" will deal with the conflict between Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (a pugnacious businessman who had his fingers in industries ranging from steel to movies to booze) and second son Jack, who stewed in the shadow of his older brother Joseph P Kennedy Jr. Joe was to have it all: the family fortune and a fast-track political career that led straight to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. That was all snuffed out when Joe died while serving in World War II. Everything Joe Sr. envisioned for his oldest boy abruptly became Jack's future.

Thus far, all we know is that Fassbender will play Joe Sr. Capable of steely reserve and dark, dangerous charisma (as he flaunted in Steven Soderbergh's "Black Bag" earlier this year), the actor strikes me as A-plus casting. Knowing that he'll be directed by the masterful Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg ("Festen," "Another Round"), while working from a writing staff led by Sam Shaw ("Manhattan") and, one presumes, guided in part by executive producer Eric Roth ("The Insider," "Forrest Gump") makes this one of the most eagerly anticipated series on our radar.

Shaw has described the series thusly:

"The story of the Kennedys is the closest we have to American mythology — somewhere between Shakespeare and 'The Bold and the Beautiful.' But Fredrik Logevall's stunning, nuanced biography pulls a veil on the human strivings and burdens behind the myth, revealing as much about our present moment, how we got here and where we're going, as about the Kennedys themselves."

The series has just begun production, so expect to hear who's joining Fassbender shortly. There is no word yet on a premiere date.