Copyright The Boston Globe
Netflix is tapping an A-list star to help bring the history of the Kennedy family to the small screen. The streaming service revealed on Monday that Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender will star in the upcoming drama series “Kennedy” as the family’s patriarch Joe Kennedy, Sr. While no other casting information has been released yet, the show is inspired by the 2020 biography “JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956” by Harvard professor and historian Fredrik Logevall, which explored the upbringing and early life of John F. Kennedy prior to his time as president. Fassbender is no stranger to taking on notable real-life figures, earning an Oscar nomination for best actor in 2016 for playing the titular Apple titan in filmmaker Danny Boyle’s biographical drama “Steve Jobs.” In 2014, he earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Edwin Epps, the plantation owner who enslaved Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free Black man, in director Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave.” Fassbender also played famed psychiatrist Carl Jung in director David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method.” According to Netflix’s Tudum site, the series will bring audiences back in time to the ‘30s, and will follow the rise of the politically savvy Massachusetts family, led by Joe. Sr. and his wife, Rose. Advertisement Behind the scenes, Sam Shaw serves as showrunner and executive producer on “Kennedy.” Shaw was previously the co-creator and executive producer of Hulu’s “Castle Rock” series, which put a new spin on the fictional Maine town and popular characters featured in Stephen King’s stories. The premiere and final episode of the first season of “Kennedy” will be directed by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), who is also an executive producer on the show, along with Logevall. Netflix has not released any information as of yet about a potential premiere date for the series. Matt Juul is the assistant digital editor for the Living Arts team at the Boston Globe, with over a decade of experience covering arts and entertainment. Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.
