Netflix Crowns Michael Fassbender As Joe Kennedy Sr. In Ambitious Kennedy Dynasty Series
Netflix dives into America’s most storied political clan as Michael Fassbender takes on power broker Joe Kennedy Sr. in Kennedy, a Chernin Entertainment series charting the ambitions, alliances, and fractures that forged the family’s legend.
Netflix is diving into American royalty territory again, this time with the Kennedys. The streamer is building a glossy, sprawling family saga called 'Kennedy' and, curveball, Michael Fassbender is playing patriarch Joe Kennedy Sr. That is a bold piece of casting, and I am absolutely here for whatever accent work and ruthlessness comes with it.
The project
'Kennedy' is an eight-episode drama about the clan that defined a big chunk of 20th-century American politics and pop culture. It is based on historian Fredrik Logevall's book 'JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956' and starts in the 1930s, following Joe and Rose Kennedy as their family takes off in ways both glamorous and devastating. The first season zeroes in on their nine children, especially the rebellious second son, Jack, trying to find his own lane while living under the glow of his golden-boy older brother.
"The series uncovers the intimate lives, loves, rivalries, and tragedies that shaped the most iconic dynasty in modern history, and helped create the world we live in today."
Who is making it (and who is in it)
- Star: Michael Fassbender as Joe Kennedy Sr. (known for the X-Men and Alien franchises; also in Next Goal Wins and the upcoming Black Bag; next up in Hope, written, directed and produced by Na Hong-jin, opposite his wife Alicia Vikander)
- Showrunner: Sam Shaw (Manhattan, Masters of Sex)
- Director: Thomas Vinterberg (Festen, The Hunt)
- Executive producers: Sam Shaw, Thomas Vinterberg and Michael Fassbender; plus Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kaitlin Dahill for Chernin Entertainment; Eric Roth; Lila Byock; Anya Epstein; Dustin Thomason; and Anna O'Malley
- Based on: Fredrik Logevall's 'JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956'
- Format: 8 episodes, Season 1 set in the 1930s and focused on the Kennedys' rise
Why this makes sense for Netflix
Netflix has already turned modern monarchy into appointment TV with The Crown, which ran six seasons and racked up 24 Emmy wins out of 87 nominations, including Best Drama Series in 2021 for Season 4 and a pile of acting trophies. The streamer is clearly comfortable mixing pageantry, politics and personal mess. On the continental side, they also rolled out The Empress in 2022, a German series about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, led by Devrim Lingnau, and that one is heading into its third season in the coming months.
What to expect
Joe Kennedy Sr. is not a small role; he is a complicated, controversial figure with ambition to spare, which should give Fassbender a lot to chew on. With Vinterberg steering and Shaw running the room, the show feels set up for prestige-with-an-edge. And with nine Kennedy kids to cast, the bench is going to be deep. If this runs long enough, someone eventually has to play Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Good luck to whoever draws that short straw, though if the first season stops in the mid-1950s, we are probably not meeting him just yet.