BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- "The Kennedys", an eight-hour miniseries about the iconic American clan, will make debut in 2011 by the U.S. Channel of History, according to media reports Tuesday.

    The series will be from Joel Surnow, an Emmy-winning creator, former executive producer of the Fox series "24" and a noted Hollywood conservative.

    "The Kennedys" revolves around John and Robert Kennedy, starting with the 1960 presidential election won by the former and ending with the 1968 assassination of the latter. It also features flashbacks to their earlier years and depicts the brothers' relationship with their father, Joe, and their wives.

    The story line draws parallels to "The Godfather": a manipulative, egocentric father determined to live out his own ambitions through his sons, who in turn spend their lives dancing to his tune while trying to stand on their own.

    The political sensations of the 1960s, such as the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights movement, will be featured in the miniseries, but "we will play them as background to the personal stories of the relationships between brother and brother and father and son," Surnow said.

    "We're not making judgments about their political decisions," he said. "This is a family story." He added, "When I was a kid, Jack Kennedy seemed like a character of destiny, and he wasn't. He was a reluctant hero."

    All eight scripts were written by Kennedy scholar Stephen Kronish, a former "24" co-executive producer.

    So far, no casting has been announced for the series.

    (Agencies)