Why the new JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette series is already facing backlash

A new television series revisiting the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette is debuting under scrutiny, with criticism mounting even as it arrives on screens today.

The FX and Hulu limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres today, dramatizing the couple’s private relationship, from their early courtship to their deaths in a plane crash off the Massachusetts coast in July 1999. Carolyn’s sister, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash.

The series has already drawn backlash from Kennedy’s nephew, Jack Schlossberg, who spoke out against the project last year. Schlossberg accused the show of profiting from his family’s tragedy and described it as exploiting his uncle’s legacy, directing particular criticism at executive producer Ryan Murphy.

Murphy later responded during an appearance on a podcast hosted by California Governor Gavin Newsom, dismissing Schlossberg’s objections as misplaced. Schlossberg, who is now running for Congress in New York, subsequently took to social media to share personal memories of his uncle.

Murphy did not participate in the press circuit surrounding the show’s release, but executive producer Brad Simpson said the creative team was conscious of the real people and tragedies at the heart of the story.

“We’re not pretending this isn’t an entertainment product,” Simpson told The Associated Press. “But we’ve tried to be ethical and incredibly sincere in how we approached it.”

Actors Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly, who portray Bessette and Kennedy, said they understood Schlossberg’s reaction and respected his right to speak out.

“I don’t know what it’s like to have a TV show or a movie written about my family,” Pidgeon said. “I understand his sensitivities, and I fully support him speaking his mind.”

Kelly added that the cast and creators approached the project with care, saying they hoped viewers would recognise the integrity behind the portrayal.

The series is adapted from Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette Kennedyand explores Bessette’s rise in the fashion industry at Calvin Klein alongside Kennedy’s struggles to keep Georgemagazine afloat.

The cast also includes Naomi Watts as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy, while depicting Kennedy’s on-and-off relationship with Daryl Hannah.

Creator Connor Hines said the series was extensively researched, drawing on biographies, archival reporting and contemporaneous media coverage, while acknowledging that public memory surrounding the couple remains deeply subjective.

Love Story is not the first Kennedy-focused project to face criticism. Previous dramatizations of the family have sparked similar debates, and Netflix has separately announced an upcoming series, Kennedy, centred on the dynasty’s political origins.

As the series premieres today, it arrives not just as a retelling of a famous relationship, but as a fresh flashpoint in the ongoing conversation about legacy, privacy and who gets to tell America’s most mythologised stories.