Love is in the air over at FX, as Ryan Murphy (The Beauty) is ready to share the premiere date for the first installment of his new Love Story series, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. The highly anticipated project, based on the book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, stars Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr., and Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette.
“It was a love story that captured the attention of the nation: John F. Kennedy Jr. was the closest thing to American royalty. The country watched him grow from a boy to a beloved bachelor and media sensation,” states the FX press release. “Carolyn Bessette was a star in her own right. Fiercely independent and with a singular style, she rose from being a sales assistant to an executive at Calvin Klein, and became a trusted confidante of its eponymous founder. John and Carolyn’s connection was immediate, electric and undeniable. As their love story unfolded on a national stage, the intense fame and media attention that came along with it threatened to rip them apart.”
How did JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette die?
Sadly, JFK Jr. and Bessette-Kennedy died in 1999 when his single-engine airplane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard. Bessette’s sister, Lauren Bessette, also died. According to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), spatial disorientation occurred while flying over the ocean at night. Essentially, this means that JFK Jr. lost his sense of up and down during the flight, which is not unheard of.
Who else stars in the series?
Grace Gummer joins the cast as Caroline Kennedy, with Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein, Leila George as Kelly Klein, Sydney Lemmon as Lauren Bessette, and Constance Zimmer as Ann Marie Messina.
Connor Hines created the series, with Ryan Murphy serving as executive producer. Max Winkler executive-produced and directed the pilot episode, which will bow on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2026.
I’ve always been too young to subscribe to the fascination America clearly has with the Kennedy family. That said, the events surrounding the deaths of JFK Jr., Carolyn, and Lauren Bessette are unfortunate, and I hope FX’s Love Story series honors their memory while also presenting a compelling series for people to enjoy. Ryan Murphy‘s projects tend to entertain as much as they rub people the wrong way. I’ll be curious how this project is received.
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