Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 and Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream the series now with KPBS Passport!
The life of John F. Kennedy is so often defined by his death. His assassination in November 1963 came to be seen as a turning point for America, a shift from an age of innocence and hope to one of violence and change. JFK himself was transformed from man into legend.
But that reading of history can disguise the fascinating and contradictory man behind the myth. JFK's public life details his travels through Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and fighting the Japanese in WWII, including swimming for survival to a tropical island. His personal life, including many different illnesses, was often hidden from the public. His glamorous marriage to Jackie and his meteoric rise to become a senator and eventually president captured the imagination of the public.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: "JFK – The Making of a President" Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2 + Encore Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV- The life of John F. Kennedy is so often defined by his death. His assassination in November 1963 came to be seen as a turning point for America, a shift from an age of innocence and hope to one of violence and change. JFK himself was transformed from man into legend.
But that reading of history can disguise the fascinating and contradictory man behind the myth. JFK’s public life details his travels through Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and fighting the Japanese in WWII, including swimming for survival to a tropical island. His personal life, including many different illnesses, was often hidden from the public. His glamorous marriage to Jackie and his meteoric rise to become a Senator and eventually President captured the imagination of the public.
Episode 2: “RFK – The Lost President” Premieres Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV - It is a great ‘what-if’ of the last century. What if Robert F. Kennedy, brother of the murdered JFK, had not himself been assassinated while campaigning for the presidency in 1968? This special explores how Kennedy was transformed from a son of privilege and Cold War warrior to an advocate of peace and champion of the people during the tumultuous 1960s.
Episode 3: "Jackie – A Tale of Two Sisters" is available to stream with KPBS Passport! (Broadcast date TBA) - Jackie Kennedy Onassis remains to this day an iconic figure of high fashion and tragedy. Her sister Lee Radziwell, however, is less well-known. Yet, it is impossible to understand one without the other, their lives were intertwined – through rivalry and resentment, love and loss.
Filmed in New York, Boston, and London, and narrated by Rachael Stirling (DETECTORISTS; CAPITAL), this documentary includes contributions from authors Sarah Bradford (“America’s Queen”), Pamela Keogh (“Jackie Style”) and Tina Cassidy (“Jackie after O”) along with Jackie's one time neighbor Tina Santi Flaherty and Ron Galella, the photographer who followed the two sisters around Manhattan.
Watch On Your Schedule:
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Credits: A 3DD Production. Distributed by American Public Television.
