After millions spent on the highly anticipated 'The Kennedys,' starring Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy and Greg Kinnear as JFK, A&E Television Networks released surprising news Friday night: The History Channel has suddenly decided not to air its epic Emmy bait.

"Upon completion of the production of 'The Kennedys,' History has decided not to air the 8-part miniseries," a network rep told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "After viewing the final product in its totality, we have concluded that although the film is produced and acted with the highest quality auspices, the dramatic license the series takes is not suitable for the History brand." The rep added, on behalf of the network, "We recognize historical fiction is an important medium for storytelling and commend all the hard work and passion that has gone into the making of the series."

An A&E spokesperson confirmed that the cancellation is not due to advertiser complaints or concerns, as was the case with 'The Reagans,' which CBS dropped in 2003 before Showtime picked it up. The content was simply deemed not accurate enough.

The cable network made headlines by embracing a scripted miniseries for the first time, which was also its most expensive production to date. But A&E is now giving the miniseries the cold shoulder -- nevermind all the tantalizing images of Katie Holmes in costume on set, looking every bit the picture of Camelot-era Jackie. Holmes, 31, recently talked to Elle magazine about researching the role and studying archival footage for hours. Hubby Tom Cruise "watched everything with me. ... He found it fascinating," she said in the Elle story. "I worked as hard as I could, because I loved her. On set there was this feeling that we had to create something very special, because these people were very special."

So is the entire miniseries history? Not so fast, says PopEater's Naughty but Nice Rob Shuter. Holmes and the cast did not see this bad news coming, but rescue parties are forming. "AMC, Starz and Showtime are all looking to pick it up," a source at a rival network said. "The production values are good, and the acting is great. Showtime had a huge hit with 'The Tudors,' which didn't exactly care about how historically accurate it was. ... If they think 'The Kennedys' will get them viewers ... at the end of the day, that's all that matters."