Rob Lowe to play JFK in Nat Geo telemovie

Rob Lowe will play President John F. Kennedy in a two-hour drama Killing Kennedy,  to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the presidential assassination.

Ginnifer Goodwin has been cast as Jacqueline Kennedy and Michelle Trachtenberg has been cast in her first Russian-speaking role as Marina Oswald.

Produced by Scott Free Productions, this will air in Australia later this year on National Geographic.

Based on the best-selling book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, the film chronicles one of the most shocking events in American history, following two men from very different backgrounds on a collision course with fate. Killing Kennedy will premiere on the National Geographic Channel later this year in the United States and globally in 171 countries and 38 languages, timed to the 50th anniversary of the assassination.

“We are thrilled to be working with Rob Lowe, Ginnifer Goodwin and Michelle Trachtenberg, three gifted artists whom have responded to this timely, authentic and entertaining material,” said Howard T. Owens, president of the National Geographic Channels. “With Killing Kennedy, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, National Geographic Channel continues to bring daring, culturally significant television events to our growing global audience.”

National Geographic Channel, Scott Free Productions and Bill O’Reilly are collaborating for the second time, following the tremendous success of Killing Lincoln. The three have already announced plans to team for a third time on O’Reilly’s next book, Killing Jesus.

Production on Killing Kennedy will begin in June in Richmond under director Nelson McCormick, who has worked on award-winning television series including “The West Wing,” “ER,” “Southland,” “The Good Wife” and “The Closer.” He also directed the critically acclaimed feature films “Prom Night” and “The Stepfather.” Celebrated playwright and screenwriter Kelly Masterson has written the teleplay. Executive producing for Scott Free Productions are David Zucker and Mary Lisio. For National Geographic Channels, executive producers are Howard T. Owens, Noel Siegel, Charlie Parsons, Richard E. Wells and Teri Weinberg.

Killing Kennedy begins in 1959, at major turning points for both the future president and his assassin. John F. Kennedy is in Washington, D.C., announcing his presidential candidacy, while Lee Harvey Oswald finds himself in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, renouncing his U.S. citizenship. These two events start both men — one a member of one of the United States’ most wealthy and powerful families, the other a disillusioned former Marine and Marxist — on a cataclysmic track that would alter the course of history. Throughout we see their highs and lows, culminating in not one but two shocking deaths that stunned the nation.