It follows the network's first feature, Killing Lincoln, also from an O'Reilly book, which was the channel's most watched programme ever.
Whereas every line in Killing Lincoln had its roots in history, Killing Kennedy is a "factual drama" including imagined conversations between the main players.
It differs from previous dramatisations in a number of ways. While Stone's movie made waves for its conspiracy theories, and The Kennedys was slammed for delivering caricatures, Killing Kennedy focuses just as much attention on assassin Lee Harvey Oswald as it does on the 35th President of the United States.
Screenwriter Kelly Masterson says through his research on Oswald he came to believe that, despite the conspiracy theories, Oswald must have worked alone.
"That's not to say there might not have been other things going on, that is certainly possible. But the thing that became very clear to me was that no one could conspire with this man. He was such a lone wolf and such a loose cannon. No one could control him."
Actor Will Rothhaar portrays Oswald as a disturbed young man searching for recognition. Says Masterson: "He was an extraordinarily troubled man from a very early age. And while he had periods when he could pass for a normal person, moments of lucidity and clarity, for the most part he lived in his own fantasy world that he created."
Killing Kennedy also tries to humanise John and Jackie Kennedy. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin says she listened to tapes but made no attempt to recreate Jackie's famously breathy voice for fear it would be a distraction.
"I tried to play her the way she describes herself and find the authenticity of the character rather than worrying about doing an impression of her or an impersonation of her."
Rob Lowe succeeds in nailing Kennedy's Bostonian accent without tripping into caricature. Lowe's Kennedy struggles with being the youngest US President and is aware of being seen as weak. Kennedy's liaisons with other women are alluded to but Lowe says his attempt was to "capture him as a man".
"We all know the iconography of Kennedy. I was really interested in the details of what he was like as a father, as a brother, as a husband, as a flawed, complicated, and heroic guy, where those small details live."
Says Masterson: "There's a line at the end where Jackie says he only wanted to be a man, but now he's a legend. I think he was a man through and through, with faults like everybody else ... And I'd say the same about Lee. I never wanted to portray Lee as a monster."
TV preview
What: Killing Kennedy
Where: National Geographic Channel
When: Tuesday, November 19, 7.30pm
