Love Story producers Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobsen have been dramatising the real life events of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette for quite a while, but it’s crushed ending has been a sensitive topic: the fatal plane crash that became one of the most devastating incidents of America.
Simpson spoke to Variety about how the team behind the show didn’t want to make a spectacle out of it and steered it with a clear hand to make sure it’s not depicted as something full of thrill. Further he added,
“The plane ride [in which JFK Jr. and Bessette and her sister Lauren Bessette died] definitely was something that we talked about quite a bit…But there was a lot of conversation about how to handle the plane, whether we should show the plane at all. We didn’t want to be gratuitous. We didn’t want to turn it into a crazy thrill ride. We spent so much time loving these characters and knowing that this was going to end the way it did.”
Jacobson praised the cast, particularly the women left behind. “Our cast is an embarrassment of riches, especially for the women,” she said. “They’re left in the wake of these devastating losses, unimaginable loss.” Jessica Harper’s addition as Ethel Kennedy late in production was actually Ryan Murphy’s call after falling in love with her performance throughout the series. Her scenes discussing what it means to be a Kennedy woman became pivotal to the finale’s emotional weight.
The series ultimately succeeded because it refused to exploit its tragedy and instead used JFK Jr. and Bessette’s real fate as the backdrop for something more human: watching the people who loved them struggle with their loss.
More details about FX’s Love Story
Love Story follows the whirlwind courtship and marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy through 1999, ending with their fatal plane crash. Sarah Pidgeon stars as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, a Calvin Klein publicist who becomes the face of the decade’s most glamorous romance. Paul Anthony Kelly plays JFK Jr., with Grace Gummer as his sister Caroline and Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy.
The show garnered good reviews and views. It brought in 25 million viewing hours across Hulu and Disney+ for just the first five episodes. By episode 5, the numbers only increased. It also became quite popular on TikTok, with growing interest in the story of the couple.
Love Story is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
Edited by Nibir Konwar