MODERN NYC LOVE STORY

FAMOUS LOVE STORY PART OF MEDIA AMERICAN LORE

by PETER THOMAS BUSCH

One of the most memorable love stories to emerge from New York City was that spell binding romance between the son of a former President and a fashion house publicist that earned near daily tabloid headlines.

Love Story (Series 2026) takes place when the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was still alive and when the son of President John F. Kennedy, John Jr., was attempting to establish himself, as part of but still apart from his father’s legacy.

Paul Anthony Kelly plays John Jr, who has recently failed the New York Bar Exam, while Sarah Pidgeon plays the love interest, Carolyn Bessette, who is gaining more and more recognition at the Calvin Klein fashion house.

A sympathetic portrait is created of John Jr. by showing him being attacked by the media and having his bicycle stolen, not once but twice.

Alessandro Nivola plays Calvin Klein who stewards Carolyn’s career. Nivola shares several scenes over different episodes as the camera follows Carolyn’s career and how her demeanor changes as she becomes more and more smitten.

Calvin Klein is portrayed as a thoughtful, kind man, with that great ambition necessary to succeed in the fashion industry.

Carolyn is at first standoffish, partly because of Kennedy’s reputation of being  a lady’s man. Kelly shows part of John Jr’s allure is having a slight feminine side as he struggles with the passing of his mother and several career failures.

The series shows the Kennedy family still struggling with tragedy while the public pressure to succeed collapses their personal relationships.

The episodes gradually spin away from the Kennedy legacy as the relationship begins to strengthen.

Naomi Watts plays Jacqueline Kennedy, who incrementally shows more and more health issues, and ultimately loses a battle with cancer.

Series creator Connor Hines shows enough of the Kennedy Family to reveal the legacy dynamics over nine episodes.

A dreamy music score recurs in the background as the complicated love in a difficult environment takes hold.

The scenes reveal more and more about the personal dynamics, including John Jr.’s prior relationship troubles with such media icons as actress Daryl Hannah.

Daryl has become distant as a Hollywood starlit when she retreats to the West Coast after her life in New York falls a bit sideways, but she momentarily reenters the story only to find that the differences still exist that are too great to reconcile.  

John Jr has an easier time pushing Daryl away because he has begun flirting with the idea of having a relationship with Carolyn.

Eventually, John Jr. gives in to his more creative side, and signs on as a magazine co-publisher, while the relationship with the fashion house publicist begins to heat up in the press.

A number of high-profile supporting characters are introduced, such as Caroline Kennedy, played by Grace Gummer. Caroline gets caught up in a bit of sibling rivalry, from time to time, between herself and her younger brother, who has a higher public profile. In the background, the difficulty in measuring up to the Kennedy legacy provides constant pressure on their personal lives.

The episodes tend to carry themselves well enough over 43 and 58 minutes, although one or two episodes slow everything down as the camera tries to encapsulate the difficulties in such a high-profile relationship surviving in New York City with the lifestyle John Jr. maintained.

The lack of privacy for the love birds becomes painfully obvious.

John Jr. and Carolyn do get married, but the increasing social pressure incrementally breaks down the newlyweds’ love bond.

The series shows great character development with the apparent end goal of creating a better understanding of various personalities. Overall, the lingering impression offered is that many moments were forced and often appeared a bit trite inside the media bubble in which the relationship struggled.

In the end, the series directors have captured more of a love story, with social commentary, as opposed to a political story about a famous American family.