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."