Joel Surnow, who co-created TV's hit counter-terrorism thriller 24, is turning his gaze to the Kennedy clan for an upcoming 10-hour miniseries.

Surnow and Canadian production company Muse Entertainment are pitching a series that "unveils the secrets of the Kennedy family," Muse said in a news release.

The drama, tentatively titled The Kennedys, "takes an inside look behind the secret doors of the White House," according to Montreal-based Muse, which also has operations in Toronto and Vancouver.

'Neither a hatchet job nor a valentine'

"It also tells the historical stories that are associated with the Kennedy era — the Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, the civil rights struggle, the mob connection — each one told in the context of personal, Kennedy-family dramas."

Surnow is known as an outspoken conservative. However, the project will be "neither a hatchet job nor a valentine," the firm said.

"The Kennedys are portrayed not as mythic figures but as human beings, capable of both greatness on a grand scale and all-too-human frailty on a private one. It is a window onto the emotional minefield that made the Kennedys what they were."

According to the Hollywood trade press, the producers are in talks with a major U.S. cable network for distribution.

With a proposed budget of $30 million US, the project will be presented at an annual television industry conference in Cannes this weekend.