• Network: FX
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 12, 2026
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 24
  2. Negative: 0 out of 24

Critic Reviews

  1. Reviewed by: Hope Sloop
    Feb 12, 2026
    100
    Believe me when I say that Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette is the first truly captivating new show of 2026 and an instant addition to the list of shows you’ll want to watch and rewatch… just have a box of tissues at the ready.
  2. Reviewed by: Kaiya Shunyata
    Feb 12, 2026
    90
    Together, Pigeon and Kelly have fantastic chemistry. .... Yet, it’s not the central pair who deliver the show’s most captivating performances: it’s the women who surround John F. Kennedy Jr. who take the cake as this series’ most interesting players. .... Nothing about this series feels cheap.
  3. Reviewed by: David Mack
    Feb 12, 2026
    80
    Somehow, despite a degree of current-day Kennedy fatigue, this FX series feels fresh and compelling.
  4. Feb 12, 2026
    80
    The series is a respectful, sincere and humanized portrayal of a couple who were loved and mourned by the whole of America.
  5. Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Feb 12, 2026
    80
    A compellingly voyeuristic drama.
  6. Reviewed by: Angie Han
    Feb 12, 2026
    80
    A full-fat romantic drama that embraces the genre’s most enchanting tropes — the rain-soaked kiss, the reformed rake, the tasteful displays of wealth — while grounding them in just enough streetwise reality to make the fantasy feel all the more tangible.
  7. Reviewed by: Aramide Tinubu
    Feb 12, 2026
    80
    Overall, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” is a thoughtful show that centers on the sacrifice of long-term commitment, chemistry, incompatibility and the thunderous chaos of fame.
  8. Reviewed by: Isabella Soares
    Feb 12, 2026
    80
    Love Story strikes a balance between historical accuracy and creative liberty to offer a fresh perspective on events that many viewers remember all too vividly.
  9. Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    Feb 13, 2026
    75
    With only a few dips into crass sensationalism, this love story starring Paul Anthony Kelly and a standout star-is-born Sarah Pidgeon lets us share in John and Carolyn’s one brief shining moment and ache for what might have been.
  10. Reviewed by: Kelly Lawler
    Feb 12, 2026
    75
    That obsession with committing the tabloid version of the story to film is what most kneecaps "Love Story," and prevents a very good show from being a great one. It's easy to tell when the show pivots from thoughtful to artificial, from feeling to faux.
  11. Reviewed by: Chris Vognar
    Feb 12, 2026
    70
    Pidgeon’s Carolyn isn’t quite an underdog; she’s more of a Cinderella who really likes nice things. Kelly’s Kennedy is, well, very handsome. These aren’t great performances, but they convey something essential about the show’s worldview, if you can call it that.
  12. Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    Feb 12, 2026
    65
    Decrying tabloids even as it embraces their peek-behind-the-curtain spirit, it’s a People magazine feature in TV form.
  13. Reviewed by: Randy Myers
    Feb 18, 2026
    63
    Sometimes veers toward the overstated and melodramatic. .... “Love Story” is best at showing how damaging and merciless the scrutiny can get for the rich and famous and those thrown into it all without a life vest.