Years After Ryan Murphy Scrapped His Princess Diana Show, I Think He Should Try It Again With Love Story

The royal romance and bitter divorce between Princess Diana and Prince Charles (now, King Charles III) is a saga known around the world, and one that has been told countless times. But did you know that at one point, Ryan Murphy was going to turn the story into a season of his Feud anthology series? I, for one, didn’t know until recently, when I was watching Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, which just wrapped up on the 2026 TV schedule.

Well, it turns out Murphy came very close to tackling the drama a couple of years before The Crown turned its attention to one of the biggest stories of the late-20th century. Though those plans never materialized, I think the prolific TV executive producer should make a second attempt at telling the story again, this time as another installment in his latest, much-talked-about FX series.

What Was Ryan Murphy’s First Attempt To Tell Diana’s Story, And What Happened?

Nearly a decade ago, back in February 2017, Deadline reported that Ryan Murphy was planning for the second season of his Feud anthology to put its spotlight on the fairy tale love story of Princess Diana and Prince Charles and the bitter divorce that rocked the monarchy, a nation, and the world several decades earlier. The series, which would have begun with the Prince and Princess of Wales filing for divorce and ended with Diana’s shocking and tragic death in August 1997, was getting a lot of attention and momentum back then. However, much like the romance it aimed to chronicle, the season fell apart.

In August 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published a story where FX CEO John Landgraf said, “it’s not active right now,” signaling the project was no longer happening. At the time, Rosamund Pike and Matthew Goode were rumored to be taking on Diana and Charles, respectively, but the material wasn’t there, as Landgraf told THR.

The Diana and Charles season never recovered from there, and the Feud franchise sat on ice for several years before returning with Capote vs. The Swans, an exploration of Truman Capote’s falling out with a group of socialites in the 1960s.

The ‘Love Story’ Setup Is The Perfect Way To Chronicle The Royal Romance And Falling Out

With Ryan Murphy returning to the world of celebrity romances gone awry, on top of his ongoing Monster series streaming with a Netflix subscription, now seems like a perfect time for him to revisit the story and give the project a second chance at life. Well, at least as a part of the Love Story franchise. I mean, even though The Crown went into great detail (and spent parts of three seasons recounting the iconic love affair), using the model established by Love Story with one season and one season only, it could be a fulfilling and engaging spectacle to take in.

Much like American Crime Story, which has told everything from the O.J. Simpson trial to the murder of Giavanni Versace to the Bill Clinton Sex Scandal, the first season of Love Story spent fewer than 10 episodes telling the full, albeit abridged, saga of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s romance and eventual deaths.

By having eight hours to tell Diana and Charles’ story, it would give us a more streamlined story that is also long enough not to feel like the major points are skipped. You get the courtship, the wedding, the alleged infidelities, the divorce, and Diana’s tragic death.

The First Season Of Love Story Touched On The Princess Of Wales’ Death In An Impactful Way

I am not saying that I think each season of Love Story should be interconnected or anything like that, but the first season of the series already touched on the death of Princess Diana in a touching and meaningful way.

In the penultimate episode, as JFK Jr. and Carolyn are having a heated argument about the latter’s reluctance to leave their Soho loft due to constantly being hounded by paparazzi invading her privacy, the discussion is interrupted by a phone call to turn on the news. Moments later, the couple watches in horror as scenes from the tragic accident unfold before them. This scene, which feels like it was included to represent what Carolyn was going through at the time, since both she and Diana were targets of the press, also leads to one of the best sequences of the entire season.

JFK Jr. running through the streets of NYC and Carolyn watching in anguish as she learns a woman in a similar situation, as well as someone she looks up to, has died, all set to Radiohead’s “Exit Music (for a Film)” is nothing short of masterful. It not only gave us another great music moment from the stellar Love Story soundtrack but also a brilliant moment that ties the show’s themes together.

It’s A Delicate Topic, But It Could Work With Some Care

Undoubtedly, a season of Love Story about Princess Diana, her ill-fated relationship with Prince Charles, and her tragic death would be a very delicate topic that would have to be handled with the utmost care. That said, the dynamic surrounding JFK Jr., Carolyn Bessette, and the Kennedy family’s place in American history/society was handled decently, for the most part. Sure, the Daryl Hannah situation in the first half of the season wasn’t handled all too well (the actress ended up penning a scathing op-ed about her portrayal), but maybe that could be a lesson for future installments.

This could be a chance to get the story right and pay homage to one of the most transformative figures of the 20th century while also giving audiences engaging, must-see TV. With a good balance of reality and creative license, this could be done really well and with a great deal of respect.

It still hasn’t been announced if FX is going to come out with more seasons of Love Story, but I’ll be shocked if they don’t. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, the first season is streaming in its entirety with a Hulu subscription.