'The Kennedys' miniseries premiere sets ratings records for ReelzChannel

"The Kennedys" may not have earned many adoring reviews, but the miniseries did set a record for the previously little-known ReelzChannel.

Sunday's premiere of the sprawling eight-hour epic about the American political dynasty, starring Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes and Tom Wilkinson, delivered 1.9 million total viewers in its original airing plus an encore immediately afterward, according to the Nielsen Co. The first airing earned a 1.7 household rating, well past the goal the network set of a 1.0 rating.

Needless to say, "The Kennedys" -- which was dumped from the History channel schedule after historians and Kennedy family defenders complained about its accuracy -- is the most-watched program in the history of ReelzChannel, a 5-year-old outlet best known for airing movies, trailers and movie-review shows. The show drew mostly mixed or negative notices from critics.

"Viewers across America showed their ongoing fascination with the Kennedy family and, specifically, their desire to see such a star-studded cast in the highly anticipated 'The Kennedys,' " ReelzChannel Chief Executive Stan E. Hubbard said in a statement. "In acquiring 'The Kennedys' our aim was to give viewers an opportunity to watch an incredible movie event with massive star power and to also put a spotlight on our network like never before."

RELATED:

How the $30-million "Kennedys" miniseries wound up on ReelzChannel

-- Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy in "The Kennedys." Credit: ReelzChannel / Associated Press

 

Comments

[JB]

Great performances but you'll never get me to believe ol' blue eyes engineered the deal. Unfortunately all the players are gone so we'll never know

[RUKiddingMe]

Good entertainment. Especially love Greg Kinear as always & becoming bigger Barry Pepper fan - great job. Katie Holmes actually gives Jackie more liveliness than she really had - she was very bland in reality.

[David]

Funny how Liberals are upset that the manufactured image of that family has finally been debunked. The truth is the family that Joe created and lorded over had more faults than virtue.

[SouthernLady]

I was only 9 years old when JFK was assasinated. While I was too young to know and understand the "state of the union," I recall how overwhelmed and deeply saddened I was at learning of his tragic death; and, when Bobby was assassinated only a few years later, the country experienced the same excruciating grief once again. Watching this series opened my eyes to the political arena of the 60's and the history behind the times. I perceive this series will be viewed by many for years and years to come. I do recall how mezmerized the American public was with the Kennedy family during the years of "Camelot."

[Fran]

I don't care what any critic says, that mini series was outstanding and all of the actors were amazing.

[Jocko]

Gee, Jack played around and the old man was a ruthless btard. This is news? Where was the controversy? Bobbie, Ethel, Jackie, and Rose come off like saints. The assisinations were handled with dignity. As far as entertainment goes, I thought it was great.

[TTS]

I thought it was GREAT! LOVED IT! Thank you Greg as Jack. You were great and so was Bobby character.

[Me in Mass]

To Carolyn, Katie Holmes was not doing a Boston accent. She was not raised in MA, she was raised in Rhode Island and sounded like that! I think the cast was great. Not sure about all the accuracies but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Jim Haworth]

I loved it. Liberal critics are probably correct in some of their criticisms of factual accuracy but if we had let them do it we never would have got anything close to the real story. Some facts may have been wrong or not proven but it seemed to capture the essence of them. The good and the bad. I actually felt more positive about the Kennedy's after watching the series than I did before.

[dana]

I love this Mini-series...I really don't know why the family would be upset about this movie. 1 is gave us insite of the emotion they must have been going through..it makes them real..like the rest of us...Before this movie... I always admired this families strengh and endurance to keep the faith and keep going...The Kennedys should be proud...i have always been proud of this family.

[jill]

I watched the whole mini series and did not see Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to the President. Did they cut it?

[Linda Elwood]

I thought Greg Kinnear was very good in the part of
President Kennedy I enjoy the series very much
I got hook on it very quick I cound'nt wait until
the the next part would air
I hope to see a repeat

[Newnews]

I think the miniseries was great- great looking and great acting/ Not political at all- the story of a family. I wonder though what happened to Teddy - he seems to have been left out of the series ?

[Kenda]

I can't see why the family would not want this series to air. It is beautifully done, well acted, fairly well directed. I felt at times as if I were watching the Kennedy's real life. Didn't feel it was political by any means. It showed the good and bad of any family. Corruption today is MUCH worse and more blatant. The guy who played Bobby was spot on. Greg and Katie were excellent as well as the other actors.

[Ed Wheatly]

Unfortunately it lost me when Jack and Joe Jr. had their spat in front of Joe Sr.. Joe Jr. accused Jack of being asleep at the switch, then asked if his radar was on to which Jack replied, "it was sweeping". PT109 has NO Radar. This is an established fact. Only one boat in the squadron had radar and was not near the 109 when the Amagiri collided with it. I was getting into it but at that point I felt that if they would lie just for one little line, the whole production was playing fast and loose with the truth. It could have been very good but now I see why the History channel dropped it. Sad.