With only a single photo from their wedding day, the romance of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette has long been shrouded in legend: the courtship of the fashion publicist and the Kennedy heir, their private nuptials, and, tragically, their deaths in a 1999 plane crash alongside Bessette’s sister Lauren.
The new FX and Hulu series, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, premiering Thursday, aims to fill in the gaps of the couple’s life together. The series depicts their first meeting at a party and traces their relationship through Kennedy’s efforts to keep George magazine afloat, Bessette’s rise at Calvin Klein, and ends with their untimely deaths in a plane crash off the Atlantic on July 16, 1999.
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy’s nephew, criticized the series last year, calling it “profiting off his family in a grotesque way” and accusing executive producer Ryan Murphy of making “millions” from Kennedy’s legacy. Murphy responded on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast, saying, “It’s an odd choice to be mad about your relative that you really don’t remember.” Schlossberg, now running for Congress in New York, shared memories of his uncle on social media.
Executive producer Brad Simpson, a veteran of Murphy’s American Crime Story projects, told The Associated Press that the creative team was mindful of the real people and tragedies at the center of the story.
“We’re making an entertainment product, but we’ve tried to be ethical and incredibly sincere,” Simpson said.
Actors Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, portraying Kennedy and Bessette, emphasized their respect for Schlossberg’s opinion and the care they took in representing the couple.
“I don’t know what it’s like to have a TV show or movie about my family, and I understand his sensitivities,” Pidgeon said. “I fully support him speaking his mind.”
Kelly added, “We tried to have as much integrity and love going into this retelling, and I hope that comes through.”
Based on Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, the series also features Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy and Naomi Watts as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, highlighting family tensions and Kennedy’s past relationships, including his on-again, off-again romance with Daryl Hannah.
Series creator Connor Hines stressed the research behind the project, which included newspaper articles, tell-all books, and firsthand accounts. “We were exhaustive and diligent in our approach, and I think that will ring true when people watch it,” Hines said.
Love Story follows a history of scrutiny for Kennedy family portrayals. A 2011 miniseries starring Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes faced criticism for inaccuracies and was ultimately dropped by The History Channel, later airing on Reelz.
The Kennedys’ story will continue on screen: Netflix is developing Kennedy, a series on the family’s political origins based on Fredrik Logevall’s JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917–1956, with Michael Fassbender cast as patriarch Joe Kennedy Sr.
