Michael Fassbender to Star in Netflix’s New Kennedy Family TV Series
Netflix is bringing the Kennedy family story to television with a new eight-episode series titled Kennedy.
The show will star Michael Fassbender as Joe Kennedy Sr., the father of President John F. Kennedy, and is based on Fredrik Logevall’s book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956.
According to Netflix, the series will dive into “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.”
The story begins in the 1930s and follows Joe and Rose Kennedy along with their nine children, including their rebellious second son Jack, who struggles with the shadow of his older brother.
Michael Fassbender will star as Joe Kennedy Sr. in KENNEDY — a new series tracing the lives, loves, rivalries, and tragedies of the most iconic dynasty in modern history.
— Netflix (@netflix) October 20, 2025
Beginning in the 1930s, the first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine… pic.twitter.com/vPqWwUfwTt
Showrunner Sam Shaw told Netflix’s Tudum that the Kennedy family story is like “American mythology” and described it as falling “somewhere between Shakespeare and The Bold and the Beautiful.”
Shaw added, “Fredrik Logevall’s stunning, nuanced biography pulls a veil on the human strivings and burdens behind the myth, revealing as much about our present moment, how we got here and where we’re going, as about the Kennedys themselves.”
Shaw expressed excitement about the project, saying, “I’m thrilled to be able to explore this saga of a family and a world in transition with Eric Roth, Thomas Vinterberg and our incredible band of artists and partners, at a moment when our past feels urgently present.”
Joe Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy had nine children, including Joseph Kennedy, who died in 1944, and John F. Kennedy, who became the 35th President of the United States. Other children include Robert F. Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, and Jean.
This Netflix announcement comes while Ryan Murphy’s American Love Story is still in production. That series will focus on JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s romance, with Naomi Watts playing Jackie Kennedy, Paul Kelly as JFK Jr., and Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette. JFK Jr. and Bessette met in 1992, married in 1996, and tragically died in a plane crash in 1999.
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