“American Love Story,” Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series following the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, has found two of its major players: Naomi Watts will play Jackie Kennedy, while newcomer Paul Kelly leads the series as JFK Jr.
They join the cast alongside Sarah Pidgeon, who was previously announced to be playing Bessette-Kennedy.
The series will mark the fourth collaboration between Murphy and Watts. Most recently, in 2024, she played Babe Paley in “Capote vs. The Swans,” the second season of Murphy’s FX anthology series following historic celebrity rivalries. In 2022, she led Murphy’s Netflix horror series “The Watcher” opposite Bobby Cannavale, and next, she will appear in “All’s Fair,” Murphy’s upcoming Hulu legal drama starring Kim Kardashian.
Besides her projects with Murphy — each of which she has served as an executive producer on — Watts is best known for her work in film. She worked with David Lynch on “Mulholland Drive” (2001) and “Inland Empire” (2006) as well as his TV series “Twin Peaks,” and with Alejandro González Iñárritu on “21 Grams” (2003), “Babel” (2006), “Mother and Child” (2009) and “Birdman” (2014). Her other prominent credits include “King King” (2005), “Eastern Promises” (2007) and “The Impossible” (2012).
Murphy is under an overall deal at Disney, and “American Love Story” adds to his long-running slate at FX in particular. Besides “Feud,” His projects at the network include “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story,” “American Sports Story” and the upcoming body horror series “The Beauty.”
“American Love Story” is executive produced by Murphy, Brad Simpson, Nina Jacobson, D.V. DiVencentis and Connor Hines.
