'24' producer Surnow plans Kennedy minseries

Conservative co-creator of "24" Joel Surnow is shopping a 10-hour miniseries on the Kennedy family.

The Canadian-based project from Muse Entertainment will be pitched internationally at the MIPTV conference this weekend. The drama, titled "The Kennedys," promises to "unveil secrets" about the clan.

"’The Kennedys’ takes an inside look behind the secret doors of the White House, [and] the soiled and crooked steps it took to get there,” reads a press release. “It also tells the historical stories that are associated with the Kennedy era -- the Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, the civil rights struggle, the mob connection -- each one told in the context of personal, Kennedy-family dramas.”

With a planned $30 million budget, Surnow is attached to executive produce the movie along with “24” partner Stephen Kronish, Michael Prupas of Muse Entertainment and Jonathan Koch and Steven Michaels of Asylum Entertainment. A major U.S. cable network is in talks to acquire the project for domestic release.

“This will be the most interesting family saga to be brought to the screen in a very long time. It will be surprising, arresting and truthful … with human drama at its core,” said Prupas.

The right-leaning Surnow has semi-jokingly described himself as a “right-wing nut job." If greenlit, the producer taking on the First Family of liberal politics is sure to spark some conversation, though producers say the project will be fair. From the release:

The Kennedy sons, Joseph Jr., Jack, Ted and Bobby, were raised by a stern, austere father, Joe Sr., who kept a firm grip on their fate. Determined to push his eldest into the position of ultimate power, president of the United States, he did whatever he could to prepare Joe Jr. for this role. When Joe Jr. died, the father appointed a reluctant Jack to assume the mantle. The series is neither a hatchet job nor a valentine. The Kennedys are portrayed not as mythic figures but as human beings, capable of both greatness on a grand scale and all-too-human frailty on a private one. It is a window onto the emotional minefield that made the Kennedys what they were.

Comments

[nyguy]

Just what we need, a nutjob retelling of every piece of Kennedy sleaze. Maybe they can run it in installments on O'Reilly. I'm surprised Surnow isn't planning a fawning piece on the Reagans.

Maybe Surnow will show the Kennedy's torturing, he seems to be rather fond of it. "24 Bay of Pigs" anyone? Maybe RFK tortured Lee Harvey Oswald while he was briefly in jail?

[Bill Johnson]

Don't be surprised when he dies mysteriously. He won't.

[Jon Sewell]

Just what we need, a nutjob retelling of every piece of Kennedy sleaze. Maybe they can run it in installments on O'Reilly. I'm surprised Surnow isn't planning a fawning piece on the Reagans.

Maybe Surnow will show the Kennedy's torturing, he seems to be rather fond of it. "24 Bay of Pigs" anyone? Maybe RFK tortured Lee Harvey Oswald while he was briefly in jail?

YEAH, JUST LIKE WE NEEDED 'W' AND 'FROST NIXON'.

[John]

Just what we need, a nutjob retelling of every piece of Kennedy sleaze. Maybe they can run it in installments on O'Reilly. I'm surprised Surnow isn't planning a fawning piece on the Reagans.

Maybe Surnow will show the Kennedy's torturing, he seems to be rather fond of it. "24 Bay of Pigs" anyone? Maybe RFK tortured Lee Harvey Oswald while he was briefly in jail?

YEAH, JUST LIKE WE NEEDED 'W' AND 'FROST NIXON'.

ANGELS & DEMONS!!!

[Ben]

the kennedys are a total joke and should be profiled like this. have another drink, teddy

[Brent]

Gee...what a shock. A guy from New York who is a Kennedy apologist. The fact is the Kennedys are the most corrupt political family in American history...the story should be told. Have another drink and go drive off a bridge.

[GuyTar]

Good luck Surnow. "24" was an entertaining comic-book action series that ran out of steam by season 3.
The only people who would offer up $30m for your hatchet job on the Kennedy family would be right wingnuts like yourself. People who care about the Kennedy family won't watch your version of their legacy. At most, you will find a cable audience of a couple of million uneducated right-wingnuts, So who is really going to risk $30m on this project for such a pathetic return on investment?

[robert b]

If this man is such a devoted right winger why not spend his doe and time on the Bush dynasty. They're much more relevant and deviant than the Kennedy's. I think he would get better ratings too. Investigate Bohemian Woods and Bush Sr.'s political involvement in Guatemala.Also Prescott Bush had a lot to do with Wall Street power brokering in the early days. And there's got to be a lot of stuff to dig up about Bush Sr's CIA days and the Kennedy assassination. The sons of " B " will definitely help flesh out the story.

[nyguy]

LOl, a guy from NY is a Kennedy apologist? They're from Massachusetts idiot!

The most corrupt political family by far in this country are the Bushes, from Prescott to '42' and his Carlyle Group and Iran Contra scandal to W's 8 year reign of destruction. Now that's a mini-series that needs to be told and if we had a left-wing media you would have seen more than one mini-series about it. There have already been several about the Kennedy's. Nuff said.

[Michael]

When "W" was announced, or "The Reagans", or "Frost/Nixon", or "Nixon", or well you get the point - Were those articles riddled with how left-leaning and liberal the producers, directors and executives are? Did those film makers have to a make a promise that their story telling will be fair and unbiased? I think not - and their "work" speaks for itself (as well as the box office numbers eh?).

[NJGUY]

nyguy is right. The Kennedy's are not corrupt and the media does not lean to the left. More importantly, the sky is brown and water is dry.

This concludes today's lesson in Liberal Lunacy. Thanks for coming.