TV Review: FX’s "Love Story" Is a Lush, Tragic Portrait of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette begins not with glamour, but with tension, a sense that something fragile is about to fracture. From there, the series rewinds seven years, reconstructing the whirlwind courtship and marriage of one of the most scrutinized couples of the 20th century.

Created by Connor Hines and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, this limited series marks the first entry in Murphy’s newly branded Love Story anthology — a project that once gestated under the broader “American [Blank] Story” banner before shedding the country-specific label. The shift proves meaningful. Rather than positioning John and Carolyn as cultural case studies, Love Story treats them as something more intimate: two people trying to sustain a relationship beneath the glare of mythmaking.

Murphy’s signature fingerprints are here — meticulous period detail, heightened emotional stakes, and a fascination with fame — but the tone is surprisingly restrained. If American Crime Story dissected institutions and Feud savored theatrical confrontation, Love Story is gentler. It’s a slow-burn romance wrapped in 1990s nostalgia.

Visually, the series feels almost Nancy Meyers–esque. There’s a delicate grain to the image, soft pastels in the set design, and a romanticized version of Manhattan that feels both aspirational and lived-in. The needle drops are pure ‘90s — carefully curated without feeling gimmicky — while Bryce Dessner’s score provides a calming, harmonious undercurrent that elevates even the quietest moments. The result is lush but never garish, elegant without tipping into melodrama.

It’s hard to believe this is Paul Anthony Kelly’s screen debut. As John F. Kennedy Jr., he balances charm and vulnerability with remarkable confidence. He captures the public-facing golden boy — the smile, the charisma, the effortless magnetism — while also revealing the pressure of living beneath an inherited legacy. In particular, his handling of his mother’s death is deeply affecting.

Sarah Pidgeon is equally captivating as Carolyn Bessette. The show smartly alternates between their perspectives, underscoring how unlikely — and intoxicating — their connection was. Through Pidgeon, Carolyn emerges not as an accessory to a dynasty, but as a fiercely independent woman navigating a world that suddenly refuses to let her exist privately. Her struggle to assimilate into the Kennedy orbit without losing herself becomes one of the show’s most compelling arcs.

Naomi Watts, transformed through careful aging makeup, fully inhabits Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Rather than caricature, she offers a quiet, watchful presence — a mother who understands both the power and peril of the spotlight.

Where Love Story excels is in portraying paparazzi and tabloid culture not as villains of the week, but as a constant erosion. The press hovers at the edges of scenes, intruding on arguments, celebrations, and grief alike. Public feuds become front-page fodder. Private tensions escalate under scrutiny. The media attention isn’t treated as social commentary so much as a pressure cooker — an obstacle that steadily wears down a relationship already navigating ambition, family expectations, and personal insecurity.

The series premieres with three episodes before shifting to weekly installments, but it plays best as a binge. The pacing is deliberate, occasionally bordering on languid, yet the cumulative emotional weight benefits from continuity. This is a story about gradual strain, and the arc resonates most powerfully when experienced in full rather than in weekly fragments. That said, the performances are strong enough to bring viewers back each Thursday.

From painstaking New York location shoots to exquisite set design and period-accurate costumes, Love Story feels meticulously assembled. It’s a show less interested in spectacle than in texture — in recreating not just how the 1990s looked, but how it felt.

Ultimately, Love Story succeeds because it resists easy sensationalism. It reframes an iconic couple not as tabloid shorthand, but as two flawed, passionate people trying to protect something intimate from forces much larger than themselves. It’s romantic. It’s tragic. And it’s one of Ryan Murphy’s most emotionally grounded projects.

I give FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette 4 out of 5 stars.

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres with three episodes tonight at 9/8c on FX and Hulu with the first three episodes.