The Crown Has Found its John F. Kennedy for Season 2
The second season of The Crown will apparently make it into the 1960s, as reports today confirm that the show has cast John F. Kennedy.
The first season of The Crown made it to about 1955 (based on Anthony Eden’s becoming Prime Minister in the final episode) after opening in 1947 with then-Princess Elizabeth’s marriage to Prince Philip. Based on the latest casting news, the second season will reach at least 1961, if not later. TVLine reports that the show has cast Michael C. Hall as President John F. Kennedy and Jodi Balfour as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Here’s why we can pinpoint 1961. The Kennedys visited Buckingham Palace in June of that year — here’s a photo of the president and the queen together at the time:
However, the show could possibly reach 1963 as well. Prior to his death that year, Kennedy visited Ireland and also had a private meeting with then-Prime Minister Macmillan, per the State Department’s Office of the Historian. The Crown does like to focus on its prime ministers, so it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the show decided to adapt the contents of that meeting.
At the very least, though, it seems almost certain we’ll see the Kennedys in 1961, not long after the inauguration. Of course, we do have to wonder how well Hall will handle the president’s accent. Here’s how he sounded during his inaugural speech, via CBS on YouTube:
All of this also comes not long after Natalie Portman had an Oscar-nominated turn as Jackie Kennedy, with reviewers at outlets like Variety pointedly praising her accent work. JFK’s might be more Boston, but the point remains: both of them have very distinct and memorable ways of speaking that the actors may find more difficult than they first imagined.
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At this time, it doesn’t appear that The Crown has an airdate for its second season, but it appears production is well underway with this casting.