The National Geographic channel is really interested in killing off presidents right now. Next month, the network is set to air Killing Lincoln, a TV flick which, naturally, looks at the Lincoln assassination. Now, Nat Geo has greenlighted Killing Kennedy, a two-hour TV movie that will take a look into the Kennedy assassination.
Like Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy is based on a book written by author and political analyst Bill O’ Reilly and co-writer by Martin Dugard. Again, like the Lincoln-based TV flick, Killing Kennedy will be a “factual drama,” based in facts and using archives and other historical reference points to inform the film. To keep up with the similarities with next month’s release, Scott Free Productions, Ridley Scott’s company, is on board to produce the drama. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see whether the crew can bring back Tom Hanks to host Killing Kennedy, as well. Casting is expected to start very soon, and TV Blend will keep you posted.
While it may seem a little odd to have greenlighted Killing Kennedy before Killing Lincoln officially airs, Deadline is reporting that Nat Geo has been openly excited about producing new historical movies after Seal Team 6 did well on the channel. That historical story actually brought in 2.7 million viewers during its initial run, which also happened to be Nat Geo’s best numbers ever. Although Nat Geo seems to be banking on the famous names involved in the two Killing projects, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad call.
