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UPDATE: A rep for DirecTV confirmed that the company is “in preliminary stages of discussion” for The Kennedys.
PREVIOUS: DirecTV already provided primetime refuge to two series that had faced premature death on other networks, NBC’s Friday Night Lights and FX’s Damages. Could it do it again for the controversial mini-series The Kennedys? TVLine’s Michael Ausiello is reporting that the satcaster is in talks to air the eight-part miniseries, which was scrapped by History on Friday, shortly before it was to debut, because of reported political pressure from the Kennedy family. Unlike History and most of the broadcast and cable networks, DirecTV is not part of a vertically integrated conglom. The Kennedys, from 24 co-creator Joel Surnow, stars Greg Kinnear as JFK, Katie Holmes as wife Jackie, Barry Pepper as Bobby Kennedy, and Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy. The mini was recently shopped to Showtime, which passed on Wednesday.
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Sounds like a good fit.
I dont understand why no network will touch this mini series..with an allstar cast..and so much buzz. .Its a ratings winner already..
Has anyone seen it? Why is the show so toxic?
Without some informed comment on the content it’s hard to know whether this is a political or a quality issue… those who passed are bound by custom to say something like “Great show but not a good fit for us,” regardless of their actual reasons. The current subtext is that it’s a crude Tea Party hatchet job on a Democrat hero.
Here’s the REALLY interesting aspect of this industry imbroglio—History Channel’s pickup of the mini-series is certainly pay-AND-play. That is, they are contractually obligated to pay the license fee even if they choose to sit on the mini and never air it(assuming this was not an optional negative pick-up, wherein they reserved the right to review the final cut before deciding if they would pay and then air the project). With the stellar cast, production expense, and prior major tub-thumbing from the A&E hierarchy, it is virtually certain that there exists a binding contractual commitment, that History Channel had creative execs on set during production, that the Channel was totally aware of what was in the script etc. etc. etc. It is equally certain, given Surnow’s public politics and pronouncements, that the Channel had complete knowledge as to how controversial the mini-series would end up being. So, question #1 becomes, how did the dynamic duo of Maria Shriver (Schwarzenegger) and Caroline Kennedy (Schlossberg) effectively pull the strings that would be required to get History to bail?? Would love to have been a fly on THAT wall! Question #2 is how the sales efforts are being handled; since History will have contractual exclusivity they will have to waive their exclusive rights in order for DIRECT or any other end-user to air the program. What happens to the license fee a new end-user agrees to pay? What portion (if any) goes to reimburse History? Does History have to approve a new license fee deal with another end-user? Ah, Hollywood….always more questions to be asked and answered.
oops–that should be pay-OR-play!
Since the History Channel contract was undoubtedly pay-or-play, many intriguing questions are posed. With script approval, network execs on set and full knowledge of Joel Surnow’s “slant”, what was the “unpredictable final straw” that caused History to drop the project? And now, in “turnaround”, since History still has telecast exclusivity, wouldn’t they have an approval right over any proposed new licensee, and what will happen to the new license fee paid by DIRECT?
It’s not like they’re making this stuff up. JFK was a dirty old man. Why should his family get away with covering up the facts? And Surnow knows how to do story.