Tom Hanks really loves history and is showing that again with a new project with CNN. The actor, who stars in two real-life movies this fall and recently narrated Killing Lincoln, is producing a documentary on the 1960s for the news network.
The Sixties will be a ten-part series produced by Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog. According to Variety, Hanks is in talks to narrate and will executive produce with Goetzman under their Playtone banner. Herzog, who produced Killing Lincoln, will produce through his Herzog & Company.
THR notes that the series kicks off with The Assassination of JFK (1963), a 90-minute documentary that will air in November to coincide with the 50th anniversary. It focuses on the event, the investigation and its impact on politics and the presidency. The Sixties will pick up in April and each episode focuses on different topics from the decade.
“What we really want to do is reintroduce the story and the impact of that decade, and make it relevant to the audience that has great familiarity with it, while also appealing to a younger generation,” Vinnie Malhotra, CNN’s senior VP of development and acquisitions, told Variety. “It goes beyond just a history lesson. There are heavy subjects we’ll take on, but we were adamant to look at the ’60s in terms of its influence on pop culture and America, as well.”
CNN hopes that the series becomes a cornerstone of its primetime line-up next spring.
Hanks’ Playtone also produced Parkland, a star-studded film about JFK’s assassination, which is hitting theaters on Oct. 4. He stars in Captain Phillips and Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks, both based on true stories.
image: NBC