In 2013 , CNN president Jeff Zucker came up with the concept of '' The Sixties '' from conversations about " the forthcoming anniversary of JFK ’s assassination , The Beatles , and the civil rights movement " . Inspiration for the series also came to Zucker after being impressed with the National Geographic historical television film '' Killing Lincoln '' , which included Mark Herzog as one of the executive producers . Upon the announcement of the series by '' Variety '' on September 17 , 2013 , Vinnie Malhotra , senior vice president of development and acquisition in CNN , stated that they were " looking at '' The Sixties '' as a major television event . " With the inception of the project coming within a year of Zucker 's appointment as president of CNN , Zucker also stated to '' Variety '' that " Projects like this are emblematic of exactly the type of programming that we need more of , signifying a new direction and expanded sensibility at CNN . " Although '' The Sixties '' premiered in May 2014 , the third episode , " The Assassination of President Kennedy " , was previously released as its own television special on November 14 , 2013 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy 's assassination
JFK ’s assassination
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The Sixties (miniseries)