Netflix adds Laura Donnelly, Nick Robinson and more to Kennedy family series

The upcoming Michael Fassbender-starring Netflix series about the Kennedy family has added more to its cast.

Fassbender will star as Joe Kennedy, Sr. in the new eight-episode drama series Kennedy, which is based on the Fredrik Logevall book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1965.

Joining Fassbender in the series as regulars are Laura Donnelly as Rose Kennedy, Nick Robinson as Joe Kennedy Jr. and Joshuah Melnick as Jack Kennedy. The show will also feature Ben Miles as Eddie Moore, Lydia Peckham as Rosemary Kennedy, Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Kick Kennedy, Cole Doman as Lem Billings and Imogen Poots as Gloria Swanson.

The show will be directed by Another Round helmer Thomas Vinterberg. It will be showrun and executive produced by Sam Shaw.

“Kennedy reveals the intimate lives, loves, rivalries and tragedies that shaped the most iconic dynasty in modern history, and helped create the world we live in today,” according to its official logline. “Beginning in the 1930s, the first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.”

Shaw told Netflix that the story of the Kennedys is “the closest we have to American mythology — somewhere between Shakespeare and The Bold and the Beautiful.”

He also praised Logevall’s biography, saying it was stunning and nuanced. Shaw said the book “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.”

Shaw said he is thrilled to explore this family’s saga “at a moment when our past feels urgently present.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.