When Stan Hubbard began watching the controversial JFK mini-series featuring Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear, he couldn’t stop.
“I didn’t plan on watching it straight through, but I couldn’t help it,” the chairman and CEO of ReelzChannel said of the 8-part mini-series shelved by the History Channel, allegedly due to pressure placed on them by the Kennedys. “We have three little kids, so staying up till 3 a.m. is not always the smartest move.”
Hubbard immediately pulled the trigger on a deal to buy syndication rights to “The Kennedys,” which will finally air on April 3.
Hubbard said he hasn’t received pressure to recant. “I hope we don’t, but it’s not going to change our decision to air this,” he said. “We certainly don’t mean any disrespect to the Kennedy family. The producers and creators painstakingly paid attention to detail and took care to be as respectful as they can to the Kennedy family.”
Hubbard said no specific scene should anger the Kennedys, who have long been considered Boston’s royal family.
“I’m not a historian, but nothing is in there I hadn’t seen or heard about over the years,” he said.
UMass Boston political science professor Maurice Cunningham said the movie is entertainment, not scholarly work.
