Viacom’s Channel 5 Voted For JFK Doc Two-Parter ‘The Kennedys’

EXCLUSIVE: John F. Kennedy and family are set to be profiled in a two-part documentary for Viacom’s UK network Channel 5.

The British commercial broadcaster has ordered The Kennedys (w/t) from its own production division Elephant House Studios. The doc will chart the rise of America’s first family from their humble immigrant origins to become one of the richest and most powerful families in the U.S.

It will trace this journey from Patrick Kennedy’s arrival in East Boston in 1849 through the Kennedy’s growing wealth and political influence of his grandson, Joseph P. Kennedy. It will chronicle the political and personal lives of the family members and will feature analysis from experts and first-hand accounts from people who were there.

The two-parter will air later this year. The doc is produced by Elephant House Studios’ Jeff Anderson and has been ordered by factual commissioner Lucy Willis. Elephant House recently produced Secrets of McDonalds: 50 Years Of The Big Mac and Wallis Simpson: The Queen That Never Was.

It is the latest non-scripted series to turn the spotlight on the dynasty and comes hot on the heels of CNN’s American Dynasties: The Kennedys, which premiered in March. The six-part series, produced by Gold Rush producer Raw, is narrated by The West Wing’s Michael Sheen.

Elsewhere, Edward Cotterill’s JFK: The Making of a President is currently available on Netflix, while the SVOD service also recently bowed a Dawn Porter-directed series about JFK’s brother Bobby Kennedy and last year non-scripted digital platform CuriosityStream launched JFK: Fact and Fable.