“I use every bone in my body not to be googly-eyed over her and not kiss her and jump her bones all the time.”
Ryan Murphy’s Love Story has reignited fascination with the romance between Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr., and if you’ve been swept up in the series, you’re likely hungry for more of that 1990s New York energy. The show traces the couple’s early 1990s meetings, their 1996 wedding and its cultural impact, starring Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly. And there are plenty of series that share its DNA.
“A note that Ryan gave very early on was that he wanted the show to kind of be a showcase for ’90s minimalism,” the show’s production designer, Alex DiGerlando, told Curbed.
The couple married in 1996. They both died on July 16, 1999, from fatal injuries sustained in a plane crash piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr., after crashing into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The crash was caused by pilot spatial disorientation in hazy, dark conditions. Carolyn’s sister, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash.
Whether you’re drawn to the fashion, the romance, the New York setting or the nostalgia, here are six shows that connect to Love Story in their own ways.
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‘Friends’ and its Calvin Klein connection
Nothing screams ’90s quite like Friends. The show follows six friends living in New York City and aired for 10 seasons, making it one of the defining sitcoms of the decade. The connection to Love Story goes deeper than the era, though: if you’re intrigued by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s workplace, Calvin Klein, that’s also where Friends character Rachel Green works in later seasons.
While not officially confirmed by the show’s creators, Rachel Green’s iconic ’90s fashion transformation is widely considered to be inspired by Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and her style. Watching Rachel’s wardrobe evolve over the course of the series offers a fictional counterpart to the same fashion movement that Bessette-Kennedy helped define.
Friends is available on HBO Max.
‘Sex and the City’ and its real-world overlap
Set in ’90s to 2000s Manhattan, Sex and the City centers on Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda navigating dating and fashion. The show captures a specific slice of New York life where style, relationships and social status intersect in ways that will feel familiar to anyone hooked on Love Story.
There’s a real-world connection here, too. Carrie Bradshaw was inspired by author Candace Bushnell, who wrote the Sex and the City book and column that inspired the HBO series. Bushnell operated in similar high-profile New York City social circles with Carolyn, although it’s unclear if they directly met or were particularly close.
Sex and the City is available on HBO Max.
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‘The Nanny’ and the opposite side of ’90s fashion
The Nanny stars Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, who becomes the nanny for a wealthy Manhattan family and develops a relationship with her widowed employer, Maxwell. The six-season show ran from 1993 to 1999 and is peak ’90s fashion — but with a twist.
If you loved Love Story for its minimalism, you’ll love The Nanny for the complete opposite. Fran Fine’s colorful, often animal-printed clothing represents the bold, maximalist side of ’90s style, offering a counterpoint to the sleek, pared-down look that Bessette-Kennedy championed. Together, the two shows paint a fuller picture of how diverse fashion was during that decade.
The Nanny is available on Prime Video.
‘Seinfeld’ and the rhythms of New York
The iconic ’90s comedy follows four single friends — Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer — dealing with daily life in New York City. Like Love Story, Seinfeld is steeped in the rhythms and textures of the city, capturing a version of New York that feels both timeless and distinctly of its era.
For viewers who appreciate the setting and cultural atmosphere of Murphy’s series, Seinfeld delivers that same sense of place from a comedic angle.
Seinfeld is available on Netflix.
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‘Pam & Tommy’ and celebrity under the microscope
For those drawn to Love Story as a dramatized look at a real-life couple navigating fame and public scrutiny, Pam & Tommy explores strikingly similar territory. The Hulu series came out in 2022 and depicts the tumultuous relationship between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, portrayed by Lily James and Sebastian Stan, including the scandal involving their stolen honeymoon sex tape and their 1998 divorce.
Both shows grapple with questions about celebrity, privacy and the media’s role in shaping public narratives about high-profile relationships, making them thematic companions even though the couples themselves could not have been more different.
Pam & Tommy is available on Hulu.
‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ and meticulous period detail
If you’re looking for another semi-historical period piece with production design accuracy and nostalgia, Daisy Jones & The Six belongs on your list. While it’s set in an earlier era than Love Story, it shares that same meticulous attention to capturing a moment in time — from the clothes to the music to the relationships at its center.
The series is based on the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid and draws inspiration from the band Fleetwood Mac, particularly the relationship between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Daisy Jones & The Six is available on Prime Video.
