History Channel Won't Air 'Kennedy's' Miniseries

According to the New York Times, the miniseries about John F. Kennedy's presidency which was criticized for its historical accuracy prior to filming will not be shown on the History channel.

The series, titled "The Kennedys," was set to be the History channel's first major venture into the genre of scripted programming, complete with a high-profile cast and a well-known producer. But on Friday the cable channel released a statement saying that this "dramatic interpretation" of the Kennedys' story, "is not a fit for the History brand."

In December 2009, History announced that it had ordered "The Kennedys" from producer Joel Surnow, an Emmy Award-winning creator and former executive producer of Fox's "24." Well-known for his Conservative politics, Mr. Surnow said he could handle the Kennedy saga fairly, telling The New York Times in an interview: "We're not making judgments about their political decisions. This is a family story."

But in February, "The Kennedys" was criticized by a group of historians who saw early drafts of its scripts by Robert Greenwald. Among the critics was Theodore C. Sorensen, the former Kennedy adviser, who said, "Every single conversation with the president in the Oval Office or elsewhere in which I, according to the script, participated, never happened."

The History channel said then that the scripts were incomplete drafts, and that more current drafts were more accurate. Production on the series began in the summer with a cast including Greg Kinnear as President Kennedy, Katie Holmes as Jackie Kennedy and Tom Wilkinson as Joseph P. Kennedy.

The statement from History on Friday said the miniseries had been "produced and acted with the highest quality." It continued: "We recognize historical fiction is an important medium for storytelling and commend all the hard work and passion that has gone into the making of the series, but ultimately deem this as the right programming decision for our network."

The companies Muse Entertainment and Asylum Entertainment, which produced "The Kennedys," said in a joint statement: "We are proud of the work all of our talent put into the making of ‘The Kennedys' and the painstaking efforts that went into creating a drama that is compelling while rich in historic detail. Although we regret this does not fit into the History Channel's plans, we are confident that television viewers in the United States will join viewers from around the world in having an opportunity to watch this series in the near future."

The miniseries is still set to be shown in Canada and other countries.

Mr. Greenwald said in an email that History's decision not to show the miniseries was "a great victory for the legacy of President Kennedy and for the entire Kennedy family."

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