Michael Fassbender will be the Kennedy patriarch in a new Netflix historical saga

A new series on the famous American dynasty has just been ordered. Or The Crown USA version?

Second big TV role for Michael Fassbender! While he is currently filming season 2 of The Agency, the Irish actor will headline Kennedy, an ambitious Netflix series centered on the famous American family.

Inspired by the book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall, the series will chronicle the political and personal rise of the Kennedys across several generations, in the style of The Crown. Netflix has ordered an eight-episode first season, produced by Chernin Entertainment.

The first season will take place in the 1930s and will trace the improbable rise of Joe and Rose Kennedy, as well as that of their nine children – including young Jack, determined to emerge from the shadow of his older brother.

Michael Fassbender will play Joseph Kennedy Sr., patriarch of the clan and father of future President John F. Kennedy. The official Kennedy synopsis states:

“Kennedy reveals 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. Set in the 1930s, the first season charts the unlikely rise of Joe (Fassbender) and Rose Kennedy, as well as that of their nine children — including Jack, the rebellious second son, who attempts to escape the shadow of his older brother, the child prodigy of the family. The first season will take place in the 1930s and will trace the improbable rise of Joe and Rose Kennedy, as well as that of their nine children – including young Jack, determined to emerge from the shadow of his older brother.

Showrunner Sam Shaw, already behind the historical series Manhattan and the fantasy series Castle Rock, will lead the project.

It should be noted that the story of the Kennedy family has fascinated Hollywood for decades. From The Kennedys (2011), a mini-series with Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes, to Jackie (2016) by Pablo Larraín, without forgetting Chappaquiddick (2017) or the documentary Bobby Kennedy for President (Netflix, 2018), the dynasty is a mirror of American obsessions: power, glory, loss and tragedy. Kennedy will follow this line, with the ambition of revisiting the legend through a more intimate and generational prism. Or how to reproduce The Crown on an American scale.

No release date has yet been announced.