The Kennedys get The Crown treatment: Trials and tribulations of America’s first family will be brought to screen in new series starring Michael Fassbender

Inspired by Fredrik Logevall’s book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956, series begins in the 1930s – years before a Kennedy ever stepped foot in the White House. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a businessman, politician and one-time Ambassador to the UK, and Rose Kennedy, the domineering socialite and philanthropist, had clear dreams for their nine offspring – Joseph Jr. John, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean and Edward – and were single-minded in their pursuit of familial greatness.

American ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph P Kennedy and his wife, Rose Kennedy

New York Times Co./Getty Images

‘The story of the Kennedys is the closest we have to American mythology — somewhere between Shakespeare and The Bold and the Beautiful,’ executive producer am Shaw says of the show. ‘But Fredrik Logevall’s stunning, nuanced biography pulls a veil on the human strivings and burdens behind the myth, revealing as much about our present moment, how we got here and where we’re going, as about the Kennedys themselves.’

The first series will focus on the early years of John F Kennedy, pictured with his wife Jacqueline

Bettmann