Actors reflect on portraying JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette
Actors Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon share how they brought John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette to life beyond their media portrayals.
The seventh episode of Ryan Murphy’s new hit anthology series, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, depicting New York’s famous modern romance, returns Thursday.
The nine-episode limited series, which is airing on FX and streaming on Hulu, is inspired by Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. It stars Paul Anthony Kelly as Kennedy Jr., son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Sarah Pidgeon as Bessette.
Episode seven, titled “Obsession,” airs on March 12 at 9 p.m. Hulu’s synopsis for the episode reads, “Carolyn suffers the consequences of being a public figure. Tensions rise between Carolyn and John’s family.”
Here’s what to know about the New York–based show, including the seventh episode, the series’ episode schedule, how to watch and how an actress depicted in the show has reacted.
What is episode seven about?
Episode seven of ‘Love Story’ appears to portray the media circus surrounding Kennedy Jr. and especially Bessette after their wedding, which was said to have been filmed in Upstate NY.
The episode trailer from FX starts with the couple in the back of a car driving through New York City as they kiss and talk through their excitement about being newlyweds.
In the following clip, it appears that Kennedy Jr. is speaking to someone about the possibility of leaving his role as editor of his own NYC-based political magazine, ‘George,’ and potentially running for a seat in the Senate.
“Do not say anything to her about this,” Kennedy Jr., played by Anthony, says in the trailer, referencing his new Wife Besette. In previous episodes, we saw a conversation between the couple where Kennedy Jr. assures Besette that he does not plan to follow in his father’s footsteps of running for president and that he doesn’t have much interest in going into politics at all.
The end of the trailer shows Besette surrounded by paparazzi, which leads to an emotional breakdown as she comes to terms with her new life in the public eye.
Daryl Hannah blasts ‘Love Story,’ calling it ‘tragedy-exploiting’
‘Love Story’ has become a TV sensation. FX told the Hollywood Reporter that the show is the most-streamed limited series on the network, with over 25 million hours of viewing for the first five episodes on Hulu and Disney +.
However, not everyone is a fan of the new series.
Daryl Hannah, a well-known actress, director, environmental activist and a onetime romantic partner of JFK Jr., wrote a new op-ed, published by the New York Times Friday, March 6, criticizing the character named after her in the show, and calling the decision to make the series in the first place, “tragedy-exploiting.”
“The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident,” Hannah, 65, wrote of her character in the show. “Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device.”
“The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue. I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s. It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show,” she wrote. “These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false.”
Dree Hemingway, the actress playing Hannah in the series, revealed in a new interview that she wrote Hannah a note before filming.
“It was really just a love note to her saying how much I admired her, how much I’ve admired her as an actress and a woman, prior to even being cast as Daryl, how much I really just fell in love with her as a human being,” Hemingway, 38, said of the note, in a recent interview with Nylon. “I watched interviews and that feeling of really spending time with somebody you’ve never spent time with, but researching.”
Hemingway said Hannah has not responded to her letter, but emphasized in the interview that the series was meant to be a “dramatization,” not a portrayal of fact.
‘Love Story’ notable NY filming locations
New York plays a major role both in the real-life romance and in the show’s filming locations. Bessette was born in White Plains in 1966. Kennedy Jr. moved to New York City with his mother and sister after his father’s 1963 assassination and later graduated from NYU School of Law in 1989.
Here are some of the notable NYC filming locations:
- Jackie Kennedy’s Fifth Avenue apartment – Production designer Alex DiGerlando recreated the famed residence using a Sotheby’s auction catalog after many original furnishings had been sold.
- Kennedy Jr.’s Tribeca loft – Exterior shots were filmed at his former building at 20 North Moore Street.
- Calvin Klein headquarters – Central to the early episodes, depicting how the couple met.
- Panna II Garden Indian Restaurant – The East Village restaurant where the show filmed the couple’s first date scene. While not their actual first date location, the couple reportedly dined there privately during off-hours.
When do new episodes come out?
New episodes air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FX and stream at 12 a.m. ET (9 p.m. PT) on Hulu. The series premiered Feb. 12 with three episodes. The finale is scheduled for March 26.
‘Love Story’ Episode schedule
The series runs nine episodes total:
- Episode 7- March 12
- Episode 8- March 19
- Episode 9- March 26
‘Love Story’ cast
- Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr.
- Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
- Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy
- Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis
- Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein
- Leila George as Kelly Klein
- Sydney Lemmon as Lauren Bessette
- Constance Zimmer as Ann Marie Messina
Contributing: USA Today Network
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at [email protected].
