EXCLUSIVE: CNN will debut three new projects on its summer slate, including non-fiction series about John F. Kennedy Jr., the 1985 Live Aid concert and the notorious Billionaire Boys Club.
The projects are the latest from CNN Originals, led by Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development.
The series are:
American Prince: JFK Jr.: The three part series will tell the story of the life of Kennedy, the son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, who was always in the spotlight as he was pressured to carry on his family’s legacy. He went on to create the political magazine George in the 1990s. Executive producers are Ian Orefice and Jon Adler for EverWonder Studio along with Entelis, Lyle Gamm and Katie Hinman for CNN Original Series. Gary Ginsberg is consulting producer. The three-part series premieres at 10 p.m. ET on Aug. 10.
Live Aid: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took On the World: A look back at the 1985 concert Live Aid, one of the largest global music events in history that raised money for famine relief in Africa. The project features interviews with Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie along with George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, President Obasanjo and Tony Blair. The project also will feature what is described as rare archival footage of Paula Yates, Boy George, Status Quo and George Michael. The BBC co-production is produced by Brook Lapping, a Zinc Media label, in association with Ronachan Films.Executive producers are Tanya Shaw and Norma Percy, producer is by Angus Macqueen and Tom Pollard is the director. Executive producers for CNN Original Series are Entelis and Gamm. The four-part series premieres at 9 p.m. ET on July 13.
Billionaire Boys Club. The project looks at the 1980s rise and fall of Joe Hunt and young and wealthy men who made up an exclusive investment group who descended into a fraud scheme that led to murder. The story became a media sensation at the time. The producer is Universal Television Alternative Studio, Star Price is showrunner and executive producer. Adam Kassen and Liz Yale Marsh, who have overall deals at UTAS, are executive producers along with Entelis and Gamm for CNN Original Series. The project debuts at 10 p.m. ET on July 13.
Entelis said in a statement, “All three of these series evoke a very specific time and place and will transport our viewers back to iconic historical moments from within their lifetimes.”
