Matthew Perry will star alongside Katie Holmes in 'The Kennedys: After Camelot'.

Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry

The former 'Friends' star - who is currently on stage in London's West End playing the lead in his playwriting debut 'The End of Longing' at The Playhouse Theatre - will play Ted Kennedy in ReelzChannel's follow-up to the 2011 mini-series 'The Kennedys'.

Perry will also act as executive producer on the four-part series.

Ex-'Dawson's Creek' star Holmes is reprising her role as Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Executive producer Michael Prupas - President of Muse Entertainment, which is producing the project - told Variety: "We are privileged to have an actor of Matthew Perry's stature and ability take on the role of such a complex and controversial figure as Ted Kennedy. Matthew Perry and Katie Holmes will fascinate audiences around the world as they bring these two famous Americans to life."

The project, which is set to hit TV screens in 2017, will see Perry play Ted in the years following the assassinations of his brothers American President John F. Kennedy and politician Bobby Kennedy and depicts his very complicated public and private life as he tries to live up to the Kennedy family political ambitions and fill a male leadership void in the family.

Jackie's ties to the Kennedy family remained strong throughout her life and her relationship with her brother-in-law Ted grew ever closer as they constantly turned to one another for support and as confidantes, and this will be reflected in the project.

ReelzChannel CEO Stan E. Hubbard said: "As the Reelz brand has evolved to tell the real stories of celebrities' lives there's no bigger celebrity family than the Kennedys and we're proud to continue this amazing and dramatic story that began with 'The Kennedys' mini-series. The Kennedys have inspired more movies, books, TV shows and documentaries than any other American family."

Holmes is directing with Jon Cassar, with Keri Selig of Intuition Productions acting as executive producer.

Stephen Kronish and Sandra Chwialkowska have written the scripts, which are based on J. Randy Taraborrelli's book 'After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present'.

Shooting starts in May in Toronto, Canada.

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