'The Kennedys' finally finds a home on ReelzChannel

By Rick Porter Zap2It.com

The long-running saga of "The Kennedys" -- the miniseries, not the family -- has finally reached a conclusion.

The eight-hour miniseries, which the History Channel commissioned but then decided not to air, has found a home after several weeks of rumors that it was headed to this cable channel or that, none of which panned out. It will premiere April 3 on ReelzChannel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It's the first original scripted series for ReelzChannel, which airs movies and movie-related programming, along with a few syndicated series (including "NewsRadio" and "Brothers & Sisters"). Reelz is an independently owned channel available in about 60 million homes which has previously had a pretty low The Reelz channel picks up The Kennedys miniseries after profile.

The acquisition of "The Kennedys" will "drive ratings and put a spotlight on this network that has never been on it before," ReelzChannel CEO Stan Hubbard tells the HR. "We're going to do a full-blown marketing campaign."

"The Kennedys" stars Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes as John and Jacqueline Kennedy; Barry Pepper plays the president's brother Bobby, and Tom Wilkinson is their father, Joseph. The History Channel decided last month not to air the miniseries, citing concerns about its historical accuracy; there were also reports that members of the Kennedy family lobbied to have it pulled.

Joel Surnow, a co-creator of "24," executive produced "The Kennedys"; Stephen Kronish ("24," "Wiseguy," "Profiler") wrote it.