Netflix announced today on the 50th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s historic 83-day presidential campaign that the four-part documentary series Bobby Kennedy for President will be launching globally on the streaming platform on April 27.
It was March 16, 1968 when Robert F. Kennedy declared his candidacy for President of the United States in the U.S. Senate Caucus Room, where John F. Kennedy proclaimed his candidacy back in 1960.
Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army, Spies of Mississippi) is the director of the original documentary series and will serve as an executive producer. Laura Michalchyshyn is also executive producing, with RadicalMedia, Trilogy Films and LooksFilm producing the show. It will feature rare and never-before-seen archival footage along with new interviews of Bobby Kennedy’s close friends and colleagues.
Some of the interviews done for the series include talks with RKF confidantes and staffers such as Harry Belafonte, Rep. John Lewis, Rep Neil Gallager, Dolores Huerta, Ambassador William Vanden Heuvel, Paul Schrade, Franklin A. Thomas, William Arnone, Marian Wright Edelman and Peter Edelman.
Porter said this of his role in directing the documentary:
“I am honored that Netflix entrusted me with a story of this scale. Bobby Kennedy remains one of the most important and influential figures in American political history, and we all felt that there was no better time to study his life and legacy. We take care to closely examine his transformation from law-and-order leader to a trailblazer with a progressive focus on civil rights and social justice in a tumultuous time for the country. I gravitate to making films that shed a light on truth and justice, and RFK’s story inspires me personally, and has helped me grow as a filmmaker and a citizen.”
