Ryan Murphy has given us American Horror Story, American Crime Story, Monsters and more, and for his next trick, he plans to lighten the mood a little with Love Story … or does he? The first season of Murphy’s new romance anthology centers around John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette — their chemistry, courtship and marriage up to the day of their tragic deaths. The FX series premiered on February 12 on the 2026 TV schedule, and many critics are frankly surprised at how non-exploitative it is.
Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon are the stars of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, with the nine-episode series dramatizing their romance and how it was affected by the paparazzi and media scrutiny. Critics received all but the finale, and Belen Edwards of Mashable writes that while it’s more empathetic than salacious, Love Story definitely has its moments of horror. Edwards says:
Love Story offers viewers an intimate look at the rise of one of the most iconic '90s It Couples, as well as the extensive media pressure they faced. The show crafts a fittingly whirlwind romance, but the latter element hangs over said romance at all times. Because of this, the real fascination of Love Story becomes watching how the series avoids — and sometimes falls right into — the very pitfalls of obsessive media coverage it's trying to critique.
Kelly Lawler of USA TODAY rates it 3 stars out of 4, saying the series is “almost perfect,” losing steam when it turns from thoughtful to artificial by committing to the tabloid version of some events. Indeed, some fans will see Love Story as exploitative (the Kennedy family apparently does), but for a Ryan Murphy project, Lawler says this one shows a surprising amount of restraint. The critic writes:
For once, Murphy has offered a delicate and deferential touch. Other than a few desperately overwrought scenes with Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Love Story strikes a surprisingly subtle and respectful tone. When it focuses on this deep and complicated romance between two deep and complicated people, as portrayed by relative newcomers Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon, the story flourishes. It is intimate and personal, but universal in its themes of love, commitment and sacrifice.
Hope Sloop of Decider boldly calls Love Story “the first truly captivating new show of 2026,” and despite knowing this couple’s tragic ending, the critic says she physically couldn’t pull herself away from the screen and is “banging on the doors of FX” for the finale. Rather than a superficial or exploitative series, Ryan Murphy has produced “a well-intentioned and well-executed dissection of lives lived in the tabloids.” Sloop continues:
I know, it shocks me to say it, too. In its three-episode premiere, the show manages to find a winning formula not by focusing on the tragedy that makes this particular romance noteworthy, but by delving deeper into JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette as those who knew them would attest. Make no mistake, the series does not attempt to paint these star-crossed lovers as perfect individuals who were perfect for each other, but rather two people who were innately flawed and right for each other at the right time. It’s a tale as old as time, told poetically through the knowledge of how it all ends.
Kaiya Shunyata of RogerEbert says nothing in the series feels cheap. It’s less a seedy exposé of one of the most famous celebrity relationships of the 20th century and more of a study of the relationship between their public and private life. Shunyata’s review of Love Story reads:
The spectacle that unfolded in our reality was one that both Carolyn and John came to loathe, and instead of reveling in it, this series keeps its viewers at a startling distance. By the end of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, there is still so much left unsaid, forcing the viewer to reckon with whether we ever truly knew these people at all. It feels as if the show’s portrayals of these figures have been shrouded in a purposeful mystery, which by the end of the eight episodes screened for critics doesn’t feel like an oversight, but an admirable creative choice that works in the series’ favor.
This mystery, however, doesn’t work for Lacy Baugher Milas of AV Club, who says Love Story isn’t fun, insightful or romantic. That’s particularly disappointing because on paper, the tragic story of a couple who were basically American royalty should be a slam dunk. The critic gives it a C+, concluding:
As a romance, Love Story leaves a lot to be desired. Kelly and Pidgeon’s chemistry is stronger as adversaries than as lovers, and both are excellent in later episodes at conveying a marriage cracking under the pressures of its own myth. But the show seems unclear about what sort of message it’s meant to convey about the couple at its center, leaving one of history’s most talked-about relationships as elusive and unknowable here as it was in life.
Not everyone is going to agree, but it does seem like most of the critics are happy with the latest Ryan Murphy-produced series. From 21 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Love Story is Certified Fresh with 90%.
The first three episodes of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette are available to stream now with a Hulu subscription. New episodes will now drop weekly at 9 p.m. ET Thursdays on FX and Hulu.
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