The world was shocked by the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Fifty years on Foxtel commemorates the memory of America’s most well-known President with over 40 hours of both factual and dramatic JFK and Kennedy family programming across its channels in November.
Australian premieres include the Express from the US biopic Killing Kennedy starring Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin on National Geographic Channel, also a two-hour special on Bio There Is No Such Thing As A Happy Kennedy that delves into the many generations of the Kennedy family, plus JFK Assassination: The Definitive Guide on HISTORY that investigates the assassination, as well as three specials on Discovery JFK: The Lost Tapes, The Presidents’ Gatekeepers, and Capturing Oswald.
Australian exclusive premiere JFK 50th Anniversary programs include:
Commander In Chief: Inside The Oval Office
Discovery Channel
One Hour Special
Sunday November 3 at 7.30pm
Australian Premiere
To truly understand a President’s decision, one must know what it feels like to sit in the Oval Office with a ticking clock. We will uncover the fascinating details behind presidential decisions such as the Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Gulf War and The Bin Laden Raid.
There Is No Such Thing As A Happy Kennedy
Bio
Two Hour Special
Monday November 11 at 8.30pm
Australian Premiere
Caroline, Robert, Christopher, Mary, John-John and David Kennedy were all between seven and eleven years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and between thirteen and seventeen when Bobby Kennedy was gunned down. As the years passed, they came to know all the intoxication of the rich kid’s lifestyle, but they also learned of all the infidelities of their elders, of all the President’s secret love affairs, and of the threats that hung over their family. There Is No Such Thing As A Happy Kennedy looks at those privileged childhoods and those shattered destinies, and through both official footage and intimate archives, reveals the complex personalities of the Kennedy clan, to create a family portrait that may be nostalgic but which pulls no punches.
The Kennedys’ Irish Mafia
HISTORY
One Hour Special
Monday November 18 at 9:30pm
Australian Premiere
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was acutely felt in his ancestral homeland of Ireland. Just five months before his death in Dallas on the afternoon of the November 22, 1963, the young President had captivated the Irish people with his charm, his wit, and his rhetoric.
The Sam Giancana Story
HISTORY
One Hour Special
Monday November 18 at 10.30pm
Australian Premiere
Sam Giancana – a top member of The Outfit, run by Al Capone – was claimed to have helped get JFK elected president, as well as being hired by the CIA to kill Castro. He was also purported to have orchestrated a plot to assassinate JFK. It also showcases the Giancana daughters who best knew their father as a loving family man.
Killing Kennedy
National Geographic Channel
Two Hour Special
Tuesday November 19 at 7.30pm
Australian Premiere
Express from the US
Anyone that lived through it will never forget it. The day America lost its innocence. Based on the best-selling book by Bill O’Reilly, produced by Ridley Scott and starring Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin, Killing Kennedy begins at a dramatic turning point for both the future president and his assassin. John F. Kennedy is in Washington announcing his presidential candidacy, while Lee Harvey Oswald is renouncing his US citizenship. These events put both men – one a member of one of the United States’ most powerful families, the other a disillusioned former Marine and Marxist – on a catastrophic path that would alter the course of history forever. Stars Rob Lowe, Ginnifer Goodwin, Michelle Trachtenberg and Will Rothhaar.
Seven Days That Made A President
National Geographic Channel
One Hour Special
Wednesday 20 November at 7.30pm
Australian Premiere
From a mysterious illness that nearly claimed his life at 16 to his tremendous act of heroism saving the lives of ten fellow soldiers in World War II and his infamous encounter with an unforgettable Hollywood siren, these are the events that forever altered Kennedy’s life. Revealing commentary from Kennedy’s family, aides and close confidants pieces together the formidable character of one of the most enduring and renowned political figures.
JFK: The Lost Tapes
Discovery Channel
One Hour Special
Thursday November 21 at 8.30pm
Australian Premiere
This is the story of President Kennedy’s assassination now told through the unique perspective of newly released government tapes, audio recordings from the Dallas Police, and through the eyes and radio recordings of reporters who were there that day.
The Presidents’ Gatekeepers
Discovery Channel
Two Hour Special
Thursday November 21 at 9.30pm
Australian Premiere
There’s the power of the presidency and then there’s the power of the men behind the president. Discovery Channel lifts the curtain on the extraordinary behind the scenes history of the White House Chiefs of Staff in The Presidents’ Gatekeepers.
Capturing Oswald
Discovery Channel
One Hour Special
Thursday November 21 at 11.30pm
Australian Premiere
On the eve of the 50th Anniversary, Discovery Channel explores the assassination of President John F. Kennedy as it has never been done before – through the men who caught Lee Harvey Oswald, the officers of the Dallas Police Department.
The Final 24 Hours
National Geographic Channel
One Hour Special
Thursday 21 November at 7.30pm
Australian Premiere
Live the final day of Kennedy’s life through first-hand accounts from people who were among the last to interact with him, oblivious at the time to their brush with history and everyday objects whose connection to the event transformed them into priceless artefacts. Those with a first row seat for history included Buell Frazier who gave his friend Lee Harvey Oswald and his “curtain rods” a ride to work the morning of the assassination and Tina Towner, a 13-year-old girl who joined her father on the corner of Houston and Elm to watch the presidential motorcade and was entrusted with the family’s 8mm camera to take footage of the limo as it rounded the 120 degree turn.
The Day Kennedy Died
HISTORY
One Hour Special
Friday November 22 at 7.30pm
Australian Premiere
Filmed on location in Dallas and Washington DC, The Day Kennedy Died is an exclusive one-hour special commemorating the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. Those who were there share their first-hand account of the final hours immediately leading up to his untimely death and featuring exclusive never-before-seen interviews and powerful, rare archive footage casting new light on the tragic events of that fateful day in 1963.
JFK Assassination: The Definitive Guide
HISTORY
Two Hour Special
Saturday November 23 at 8.30pm
Australian Premiere
Express from the US
HISTORY has conducted the largest US national survey ever attempted on the topic of JFK’s assassination to learn exactly what the country believes. It’s an entirely new way to look at the assassination through the eyes of the American people. Premiere experts Vincent Bugliosi, Max Holland, Gerald Posner, Robert Groden, Jefferson Morley and others will break down why each leading conspiracy theory has captured the American imagination, where the evidence supports it, and where it comes up short. The entire range of conspiracy theories will be examined, from the mainstream to the fringe.
The Secret KGB JFK Assassination Files
HISTORY
Two Hour Special
Saturday November 23 at 10.30pm
Australian Premiere
The mystery surrounding JFK’s assassination has led to many unsolved questions. With the collapse of the Iron Curtin, many KGB officials have surfaced with top secret files posing many new questions and theories. Explore recently de-classified information, photos, and film, for the first time on TV, to find out the amazing answers.
Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live
HISTORY
Two Hour Special
Monday November 25 at 9.30pm
Australian Premiere
This special seeks to explain the enigmatic Oswald using a brand new approach. No other documentary has exclusively traced Oswald’s actions in the minutes, hours and days following the events in Dallas. By shifting the focus on that November weekend, we’re able to tell a familiar story in an unfamiliar way, providing a refreshing new perspective on Oswald himself, as well as on the Kennedy assassination.
Lyndon B. Johnson – Succeeding Kennedy
HISTORY
One Hour Special
Saturday November 30 at 8.30pm
Australian Premiere
Kennedy’s name hung over his presidency; but did Johnson succeed where JFK failed?