Katie Holmes will be returning to the role she played in the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, playing widowed First Lady Jackie Kennedy in a follow-up miniseries: The Kennedys: After Camelot.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production on The Kennedys is scheduled to begin in spring 2015, and will air some time the following year. The Kennedys: After Camelot, will follow the her life in the years after JFK’s assassination, including her marriage to wealthy Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
In addition to starring, Katie will also be exec producer of the four-episode miniseries, while veteran 24 exec producer/director Jon Cassar will also serve as exec producer, and will direct three of the four episodes.
The original 2011 miniseries ventured into controversial waters when the right-wing political views of executive producer Joel Surnow (24) reportedly led members of the Kennedy family to exert pressure on the History channel, which was to have aired the miniseries but subsequently dropped it. Instead, The Kennedys ran on the Reelz cable channel in the U.S. (here in Canada, however, the miniseries aired on History).
“Katie elegantly portrayed Jackie Kennedy in the first miniseries and now will continue the role as Jackie grows into the Jackie O that the world knows best,”; said Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard in a statement. “Katie is brave, committed and perfect for this role. She is a strong, talented woman who understands how special and respected Jackie Kennedy, and then Jackie Onassis was, as an international icon.”;