- Network: FX
- Series Premiere Date: Feb 12, 2026
Critic Reviews
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Somehow, despite a degree of current-day Kennedy fatigue, this FX series feels fresh and compelling.
-
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.
-
Feb 12, 2026The series is a respectful, sincere and humanized portrayal of a couple who were loved and mourned by the whole of America.
-
A compellingly voyeuristic drama.
-
Decrying tabloids even as it embraces their peek-behind-the-curtain spirit, it’s a People magazine feature in TV form.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Awards & Rankings
There are no user reviews yet.