The Prestige TV Podcast: 'Love Story' Episodes 1–3 — American Royal-Tea

Date: February 16, 2026
Hosts: Joanna Robinson & Katie Rich

Overview: A Royal Take on 90s Glamour, Tragedy, and American Mystique

Joanna Robinson and Katie Rich break down FX’s new series Love Story (formerly American Love Story) through its first three-episode drop. The series dramatizes the highly scrutinized, enigmatic romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, brushing against the mythos of American royalty, 1990s New York, celebrity culture, and the private/public divide. The hosts take a high-level view of the show’s creative choices, casting, historical accuracy, and what makes Carolyn and JFK Jr. fascinating—or sometimes elusive—figures for a modern prestige drama.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Kennedy-Bessette Appeal: Nostalgia and Enigma

• Personal Memories:
  • Katie (03:10): “I remember when their plane crashed…I bet I knew nothing about Carolyn. Like, I was not, like, a fashiony kind of teenager. …I think that probably came around the time of working at Vanity Fair, editing fashion stories, like, knowing her wedding dress is iconic…”
  • Joanna (03:55): “My only memory of them is the wedding. Like, the wedding photos, her iconic dress… and then the crash, and that’s really all. It’s like the wedding and the crash and that’s it.”
• Not Just a Ryan Murphy Joint:
  • Show is “closer to People vs. O.J. American Crime Story” in collaborative model—Connor Hines is creator, Murphy’s role is more branding than hands-on (04:33, 05:14).

2. Show’s Tone & Comparisons to Other Ryan Murphy Works

• Vibe Check:
  • Katie (05:59): “It’s got, like, so much People vs. OJ vibes… the period detail, the investment in the figures… there’s a richness…”
  • But: Lacks the immediate thematic and cultural stakes of OJ, doesn’t grab with the same “hook.”
• Royalty Parallel:
  • Both hosts draw comparisons to The Crown (Netflix’s upcoming Kennedy-focused series, Princess Diana storylines, and American “royals” (09:01–09:35).

3. Getting Under Carolyn’s Skin—Or Not?

• A Tough Nut to Crack:
  • Katie (10:10): “She’s not really trying that hard to be relatable to us, the viewer… you do feel the kind of the spotlight struggling to figure out who it wants to focus on.”
  • The show’s source material is “Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy” (2024)—but much early material comes from ex-boyfriend Michael Bergin’s memoir (13:26–15:51).
  • Joanna (15:11): “I am curious how you would feel if one of your ex boyfriends was a major source in a TV show about you when you’ve purposely kept yourself distant…”

4. Narrative Structure—Past, Present, and Inevitable Tragedy

• Opening Flashforward:
  • The show opens on the fateful day of the fatal plane crash, then jumps back to 1992, highlighting the contrast in Carolyn’s persona then and later.
  • Joanna (12:19): “I like that contrast of like, she became this sleeker, blonder, picture perfect Kennedy bride. But what it did to her personality and her confidence… is the journey that we’re going on.”
• Stakes of Foreknowledge:
  • Katie (11:25): “I don’t know what it gave us here. Like, everyone, presumably anyone watching this knows that’s how it ends…”

5. Performances, Casting & Character Chemistry

• Sarah Pidgeon as Carolyn & Paul Kelly as JFK Jr.:
  • Joanna (21:53): “No matter how much attention this show gets or doesn’t, this is such a calling card for Sarah Pidgeon… just endlessly watchable.”
  • Paul Kelly was cast weeks before production; he balances “arrested development” with sincerity.
  • Katie (22:51): “He has this Arrested Development thing, but there’s such a sincerity… I feel for him.”
• Naomi Watts as Jackie O.:
  • Performance is highlighted as “a big swing,” mirroring Natalie Portman’s Jackie but perhaps feeling “off” for the hosts (25:05–25:43).
  • Dialogue sometimes too expository or “not how a normal conversation happens” (25:52, 26:11).

6. The Supporting Cast: Family Tension and Fashion Ecosystem

• Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy:
  • Compared to Erin Doherty's Princess Anne in The Crown for her reserved take (27:38).
• Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein:
  • Brings “haughtiness and menace;” offers a view into 90s NYC fashion as another hierarchical world (39:17–40:39).
• Daryl Hannah Character (Dree Hemingway):
  • Joanna (32:12): “Daryl has a really thankless role… I am deeply unhappy with this show if I’m Daryl Hannah.”

7. Authenticity: Fashion, Pop Culture & Event “Truths”

• The show leans hard on period-appropriate fashion but faced early criticism for inaccuracies (40:39–41:35).
• The dog-killing subplot (43:18): “We can’t do the show without Daryl Hannah’s dead dog ashes in it… it’s this weird, like, ending of the episode.”

8. Thematic Depth—What Is This Show About?

• Struggles to achieve the same topical richness as People vs. O.J., but raises questions about celebrity privacy, public image, legacy, and the cost of American mythology (35:42–38:27).
• Discussion about possible directions—should it be more about fashion/culture than the heavy Kennedy legacy?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the “Ryan Murphy” Effect:
  Joanna (05:20): “When you say Ryan Murphy, I feel like the Ryan Murphy brand means something specifically… but I kind of think that this isn’t really that energy.”
• On Recollections of Carolyn Bessette:
  Katie (10:10): “She was just kind of a normal person who was just really beautiful and, like, kind of mean. We should talk about that…maybe aspirationally mean.”
• On Carolyn’s Dynamic Presence:
  Joanna (17:26): “So much of what I read about her was that when she singled in on you, she could make you feel like the only person in the room with her. …A wicked sense of humor, swore like a sailor, incredibly emotionally intelligent, a firecracker…”
• On the Chemistry between Leads:
  Katie (19:56): “There’s really great one on one scenes between them throughout this entire thing…they’re really nailing the chemistry between the two of them and what he sees in her, what she sees in him…”
• On Jackie O. Portrayal:
  Katie (25:12): “I think I wrote in all caps, like, you can’t just do that? It’s a wild, wild thing to do.” Joanna (25:52): “She also just doesn’t talk like a human talks… like, you know, the public holds a stone in one hand and a rose in the other. And I’m like…”
• On Cultural & Narrative Stakes:
  Joanna (38:27): “Is such an interesting… the public met him as a boy grieving his father… iconic imagery of the American…”
• On Fashion Inaccuracies:
  Joanna (40:39): “When the first photos of this show hit the Internet, the reaction… was that they got the fashion wrong. She’s not fashionable enough…”
• On Dead Dog Subplot:
  Joanna (43:18): “We can’t do the show without Daryl Hannah’s dead dog ashes in it. Like, we have to do it. But, like, it’s this weird, like, ending of the episode.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:01] — Introduction to Love Story and Renaming from American Love Story
• [03:05] — Hosts’ Personal Kennedy/Bessette Memories
• [05:07] — Placing the Show in the Ryan Murphy TV-verse
• [10:10] — The Enigma (and Aspiration) of Carolyn Bessette
• [12:19] — Contrasts: Sleek “Bride” vs. Confident 90s Fashionista
• [17:26] — Building Character: What Makes Carolyn Captivating
• [19:56] — Scene-Building: Chemistry in Intimate Moments
• [21:53] — Performances: Sarah Pidgeon’s Breakout
• [25:12] — Naomi Watts as Jackie O: Comparison to Natalie Portman
• [35:42] — 90s Themes, Public Image, and Press Paparazzi
• [39:17] — Calvin Klein as a Power Player
• [43:18] — The “Dead Dog” Anecdote and Episode Structure
• [46:18] — Interpretive Liberties: The Plane Crash, Fact vs. Invention
• [49:19] — Will They Keep Watching? Is This a Cultural Moment?

Final Thoughts & Looking Forward

• The show delivers visual and narrative nostalgia but struggles to find the thematic gravitas of past Murphy-produced works (People vs. O.J.).
• Performances from Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Kelly are standouts; Naomi Watts’s Jackie is divisive.
• The next episodes are likely to move away from the heavy Jackie O. presence, focusing more on the heart of the title “love story.”
• Both hosts are “curious to see where it goes”—even as they remain unsure whether Love Story will “hit” in the way past event TV did.

For New Viewers

This podcast episode offers both a warm but critical take on the Love Story miniseries, mixing personal nostalgia, deep-dive industry analysis, and playful skepticism about turning American tragedy into compelling TV. Even if you missed the episodes, Robinson and Rich provide vivid context, articulate the historical stakes, and capture the drama—on- and off-screen—of American royalty in the 90s.

Memorable sign-off:

“It’s more fun if a ton of people are watching, a ton of people are learning a bunch of stuff about the 90s for the first time and they’re like, wait, really? People wore pants that came up to your ankles? …That’s what we wore. It is true.” (Joanna Robinson, 50:16)