The leonine Sean Penn will play President Andrew Jackson for the HBO mini-series American Lion, written by Narcos creators Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, reports the Wrap. The six-hour series will be based on Jon Meacham’s biography of the same title, and begin with Jackson’s orphaning during the Revolutionary War to his eventual ascendance to the presidency in 1828. HBO has a good run with mini-series based on famous biographies: John Adams starring Paul Giamatti made history winning the most Emmys ever (13!) for a mini-series. And there’s a lot to mine from Jackson’s life, too: He notably fought the British and the Spanish, and continued a war against the Native Americans that many consider tantamount to genocide. But maybe the most pressing question is whether the series cover his torrid marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards, which was the subject of the Charlton Heston film The President’s Lady. Yes, there will be blood, but will there be kissing?
