Author: Lesley Goldberg , Lacey Rose

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Ginnifer Goodwin, Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin are getting political.

The duo has signed on to star in National Geographic’s upcoming telepic, Killing Kennedy, with Lowe set to play the iconic role of President John F. Kennedy and Goodwin joining him as first lady and American royalty, Jacqueline Kennedy. Rounding out the cast is Michelle Trachtenberg, in her first Russian-speaking role as Marina Oswald.

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“We are thrilled to be working with Rob Lowe, Ginnifer Goodwin and Michelle Trachtenberg, three gifted artists whom have responded to this timely, authentic and entertaining material,” said Howard T. Owens, president of the National Geographic Channels, in a statement announcing the news Tuesday. “With Killing Kennedy, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, National Geographic Channel continues to bring daring, culturally significant television events to our growing global audience.”

The drama marks the latest adaptation from Bill O’Reilly‘s collection of best-sellers, and comes three months after Killing Lincoln premiered to 3.4 million viewers. The factual drama will debut this year, timed to the 50th anniversary of the assassination. Production will begin in June in Richmond, Va., when Lowe and Goodwin are on hiatus from NBC’s Parks and Recreation and ABC’s Once Upon a Time, respectively.

Like Killing Lincoln, Kennedy will be produced by Ridley Scott‘s Scott Free Productions. Nelson McCormick (The Good Wife, Southland) has been tapped to direct, with playwright and screenwriter Kelly Masterson penning the teleplay. The effort, which will tell the provocative story of Kennedy’s last days, will run two hours, and is expected to premiere in 171 countries that carry NatGeo.

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The move is something of a reunion for Lowe, who narrated NatGeo’s April miniseries, The ’80s: The Decade That Made Us. The Parks and Rec star has dabbled in other recent telepics, including HBO’s Behind the Candelabra and Lifetime’s Prosecuting Casey Anthony and Drew Peterson: Untouchable.

Lowe is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and O’Melveny & Myers; Goodwin is with WME, John Carrabino Management and Gendler & Kelly; Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) with UTA, Framework Entertainment and Schreck Rose.

Catherine Hardwicke

CBS has added its third drama series order for 2013-14.

The first-place network has added legal drama Reckless to its schedule, which already will feature hourlongs Intelligence and Hostages.

Reckless is described as a sultry legal show set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator (Cam Gigandet) and a Southern city attorney struggle to hide their intense attraction while clashing over a police sex scandal.

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Safe Haven‘s Dana Stevens penned the pilot and will co-executive produce the CBS Television Studios drama that counts Ian Sander, Kim Moses and Twilight‘s Catherine Hardwicke among its exec producers. Hardwicke directed the pilot. Southland‘s Shawn Hatosy — whose TNT drama was canceled Friday, co-stars alongside Michael Gladis (Mad Men), Kim Wayans, Georgina Haig, Anna Wood, Gregory Harrison and Adam Rodriguez.

The pickup joins fellow hourlongs Intelligence and Hostages on the network’s schedule next season. Last year, CBS picked up four dramas this past season — Elementary, Golden Boy, Vegas and Made In Jersey. Of those, only Elementary will see a second season. 

Meanwhile, pilot season front-runner Beverly Hills Cop will not move forward at CBS, with studio Sony Pictures Television shopping the Shawn Ryan and Eddie Murphy vehicle elsewhere.

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“Smash”

The show is over for Smash, which has officially been canceled. 

After a stunningly dismal return to the schedule, the rebooted drama under new showrunner Josh Safran was bumped to Saturdays in March. Despite the infusion of scores of Broadway stars and cameos from Rosie O’Donnell and Liza Minelli, among others, the series is averaging a measly 0.8 among adults 18-49 and just under 3 million total viewers — a far cry from its freshman run.

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In a nod to the value of the project to network entertainment president Bob Greenblatt, NBC will air all 17 episodes of Smash, with Safran acknowledging that the final episode was crafted as a “series finale.”