February 12th saw the release of ‘Love Story’, from the creators of ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘American Crime Story’, all produced by Ryan Murphy. The story featured this time is the ill-fated love story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.
Sarah Pidgeon of ‘The Wilds’ and ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ takes on the role of Carolyn. Early behind-the-scenes pictures saw much backlash regarding hair and costume choices for Sarah. However, this was productive as Carolyn’s hair changed from Targaryen blonde to something more natural (despite Sarah being a natural brunette). Whereas Paul Anthony Kelly has always looked the part for JFK Jr. Watching the series, you wouldn’t believe that Paul is a complete newcomer to acting, with only previous modelling experience. I know he may be everyone’s new crush of the month, but sorry girlies, Paul is a married man as of 2023 and a dad as of early this year.
Along with its two enigmatic stars, the series has a stellar and mostly accurate cast for the rest of the Kennedy and extended family. We have Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy (Onassis by the time the series takes place), Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep’s middle daughter) as JFK Jr’s older sister, Caroline Kennedy, and Ben Shenkman as Caroline’s husband, Edwin Schlossberg. Young actors also play Caroline and Ed’s children, Jack, Rose, and the late Tatiana Schlossberg, who sadly passed away in late 2025 after a diagnosis with acute myeloid leukaemia in May 2024.
With five out of nine episodes out so far, we have witnessed the meeting of JFK Jr and Carolyn at a party thrown by Carolyn’s boss Calvin Klein (portrayed by Alessandro Nivola), their falling in love despite John’s relationship with actress Daryl Hannah, Carolyn meeting the Kennedy family, as well as the ever-present paparazzi of NYC, and the pressures that come with John being the son of a US President. The series also covers the devastating death of Jackie just under halfway through. But the tragedy won’t stop there.
The series doesn’t shy away from the harder moments of the relationship. The most recent episode, titled ‘Battery Park’, certainly covers this, with the couple’s infamous real-life argument in Battery Park, NYC, which happened in 1996. It wasn’t just a verbal sparring match; it became physical at points, with the couple pushing each other and Carolyn jumping on John at one point. If the series’ depiction is correct, according to Vogue, John took Carolyn’s engagement ring off her finger but gave it back, sitting on a curb nearby. The couple had their dog Friday with them, which Carolyn tried to take with her, but John refused; “You got my ring, you’re not getting my dog, too!” She responded, “It’s our dog!” (Vogue).
With four episodes remaining, are we dreading the ending already? The flash-forward at the beginning of the first episode to the couple and Carolyn’s sister embarking on a plane ride with John in the front seat already had us bracing ourselves for the tragedy which devastated the US and the wider world.