Ryan Murphy Series to Follow John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

Ryan Murphy’s American Story franchise is gearing up for its next installment. American Love Story, which will tell the story of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette, is coming to FX, executive producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson announced on Tuesday.

Kennedy and Bessette met in the early 1990s and married in 1996. They died three years later in 1999 when their plane, piloted by Kennedy, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The series will follow their relationship, digging into their lives and the tensions brought on by the media and individual careers.

“We have great scripts on that. We’re trying to figure out when it’ll land,” Simpson said in an interview with Variety. “It is a story that really resonates right now. It’s amazing. A lot of younger women are looking to her as sort of a representational icon of a certain period of time that’s really fascinating, and hopefully, we’ll be able to bring that to the screen soon.”

“We’re very much intending to [tell that story],” Jacobson added.

JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s Relationship Timeline

Murphy and Brad Falchuk will join Jacobson and Simpson as executive producers.

FX initially ordered the series in 2021, at the same time it ordered American Sports Story and Studio 54: An American Crime Story. American Sports Story premiered on Tuesday and follows the Aaron Hernandez murder case.

While a fourth season of American Crime Story is in the works, Studio 54 may no longer be the focus. FX chairman John Landgraf said in 2023 that they had not “landed on” a topic for the season.

John F. Kennedy Jr.’s Life in Photos

“When Ryan Murphy came to us with these two spinoffs and the stories for American Sports Story and American Love Story, we immediately jumped at the opportunity,” Landgraf said in a 2021 statement. “What began with American Horror Story has spawned some of the best and most indelible programs of our generation.”

American Horror Story premiered in 2011 as a fictional anthology series with 12 seasons released to date. The series has since spawned installments based on true stories, American Crime Story and American Sports Story. American Horror Stories, a companion series to American Horror Story, premiered in 2021.

“More than a decade ago, Ryan Murphy expressed interest in expanding the American Horror Story model to be able to tell different American stories, which have long captivated so many of us,” Walt Disney chairman of entertainment Dana Walden said in 2021. “It was a brilliant idea. Adding these new installments to the franchise will enable Ryan, Brad, Nina and Brad and their talented teams to tackle riveting stories outside of the horror and crime genres.”

FX has not yet announced when production will begin or cast details related to American Love Story.