In this April 28, 2015, file photo, Matthew Perry arrives at the LA Premiere of "Ride" at The Arclight Hollywood Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Former "Friends" star Matthew Perry will play Ted Kennedy in the forthcoming miniseries "The Kennedys – After Camelot."
Reelz cable channel on Tuesday announced his casting for the four-hour project, a follow-up to the miniseries "The Kennedys." The new film will begin production in May, to air in spring 2017.
Perry portrays Ted Kennedy in the years following the assassinations of his brothers Jack and Bobby as he tries to continue the Kennedy legacy.
Katie Holmes will reprise her role as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from "The Kennedys," which aired on Reelz in 2011.
Perry, who starred for a decade in the comedy "Friends," is currently appearing on the London stage in his playwriting debut, "The End of Longing." His CBS sitcom, "The Odd Couple," begins its second season in April.
Television producer Mark Burnett, left, looks on as President Donald Trump arrives for the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 2, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with "The Apprentice," is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration.
"With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role," Trump announced Saturday.
Burnett, who was born in London, helped produce hits like "Survivor" and "The Voice," but is perhaps best known for teaming up with Trump for "The Apprentice," which first aired on NBC in 2004.
Trump had been well-known in real estate and pop culture circles for decades. But the show helped again make him a household name — though Trump severed ties with NBC in 2015, the same year he launched his first White House run.
The selection of Burnett continues Trump's trend of filling out his incoming administration with people who have high-profile backgrounds in television or politics, or both — including his choice to be defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," and ex-television doctor and unsuccessful Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz.
Trump's first campaign in 2016 was rocked by allegations about his conduct on "The Apprentice" and other appearances during his association with NBC, notably in footage in which he said he could sexually assault women and get away with it because he was a "star."
Almost a decade after he left his reality TV role, Trump's television career remains central to his biography and political rise. The show presented Trump Tower to tens of millions of people as a symbol of power and success before Trump launched his first... Read More
