Canadian director shocked at Kennedys canning

At a Fox network press event on Tuesday, Cassar said he was stunned by the History Channel’s decision to drop the show mere months before its scheduled March air time. Apparently, he complied with every requested change on the part of network and lawyers, and he insists the series doesn’t have a political slant. Cassar also says that the final product bears little resemblance to the original script, which caused an early stir among Kennedy family members and supporters for its reported depiction of behind-closed-doors Kennedy administration sexual exploits.

The former 24 executive producer also divulged some of his reasons for shooting the series in Toronto. Most hilarious: we already had an Oval Office in storage and ready to go, a relic of the 1997 Wesley Snipes flick Murder at 1600. Cassar says his team redesigned the office to perfectly mimic the Kennedy-era White House.

For the moment, Cassar is left wondering whether his Toronto Oval Office will ever be seen by American audiences. While the History Network in Canada has confirmed it will air the program here, the series has yet to be picked up by an alternate U.S. network. HBO has officially said no, and Showtime is currently taking it into consideration. We doubt he’s sweating this too badly, though. After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?

• Kennedys director stunned by decision not to air series [Toronto Star] • Scandal alert: Katie Holmes’ Kennedy movie canned [Toronto Life]