Arya Catna | Contributing Illustrator

“You are the most guarded and elusive woman that I have ever met — how are you able to date the most famous man in America?” is the confrontational yet summative question asked of Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon) in a dimly-lit Manhattan bar.

As “Love Story,” FX’s new limited series, begins, Bessette is just a relatively unknown sales associate at Calvin Klein. But she quickly starts to be pursued by what the series calls the ‘90s most eligible bachelor, the charismatic and instantly recognizable John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly).

Although “Love Story” has strong writing, excellent sets, and a star-making turn from Pidgeon at the center, Kelly’s shockingly weak and unengaging performance as the late president’s son holds the limited series back from being truly great.

It’s 1992 in New York City, and Kennedy is America’s golden boy. But despite constant paparazzi attention, a new magazine he’s starting, and the most famous last name in the country, he feels lost. After his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Naomi Watts), pushes him to find a “real” relationship beyond his current entanglement with actress Daryl Hannah (Dree Hemingway), he has a meet-cute with Carolyn Bessette.

Soon, Kennedy is saying “she’s totally unlike any woman I’ve ever met,” showing up at her workplace, and sending bouquets of roses to her office every day. 

But Bessette is more guarded and cautious than any other woman who Kennedy has dated. Pidgeon, a Tony-award nominee for her performance in the Broadway play “Stereophonic,” infuses Bessette with a fully compelling personality. Her lip bites, graceful physicality, nervous energy, and emotive eyes craft a rich persona, and her traits have already become memes online.

Bessette and Kennedy share an intriguing first date at an Indian restaurant, with Bessette’s questions needling as many answers out of Kennedy as possible while revealing little about herself. But after that first-date awkwardness, Pidgeon gradually peels back the layers of her personality, showing where Bessette’s tough exterior and quiet vulnerability come from.

In contrast, Kelly shows little range, even when he has a rich cast of supporting characters to play off of, including his quiet but firm mother, his restrained and caring sister, Caroline (Grace Gummer), and his angry yet dedicated magazine business partner, Michael (Michael Nathanson).

Sure, Kennedy is supposed to have some level of aloofness and emotional detachment, but when the same blasé attitude appears in both business meetings and vulnerable moments with Bessette, the viewer inevitably questioned if Kelly might just be delivering a poor performance. 

Production of “Love Story” almost got delayed because they could not find someone to play Kennedy, but Kelly’s last-minute casting did not exactly save the show. Even though Kelly may appear to be a good fit because he looks exactly like Kennedy, Kelly’s lack of emotion and poor variation in line delivery make the choice frustrating.

When half of your central romantic couple fumbles his vulnerable scenes and seems to only be able to deliver the emotions of being charming or being irked, “Love Story” feels inevitably incomplete and always one step away from reality.

But none of those critiques apply to Pidgeon. 

As Bessette, she has her own cast of supporting characters to play off of, most of all her on-again, off-again boyfriend Michael Bergin (Noah Fearnley), whose joyous optimism gradually fades as Bessette bonds with Kennedy instead. She also connects with her boss, Calvin Klein (Alessandro Nivola), and his wife, Kelly Klein (Leila George). 

Her friendship with Kelly Klein lets Bessette see what marrying someone famous can turn out to be: how their star can eclipse your own.

The series drifts among Bessette and Kennedy’s respective workplaces, homes, and dates. Whether it is a disapproving aunt at a boisterous Kennedy family reunion weekend or Bessette’s sister questioning Bessette’s choices, new friction is created each episode as their romance waxes and wanes.

But “Love Story” is never boring.

Themes of fame, duty, and romance inevitably surface throughout the show’s nine episodes, and many well-written scenes have their characters debate their relative importance. The writers’ room often offers strong material to its cast, and some scenes, like an emotionally-charged fight in Battery Park or a family dinner, shine through the workplace filler.

Still, each episode is beautifully captured in large-format shots with soft backlighting and strong, angular composition, especially from Director of Photography Pepe Avila del Pino. A color palette of black, white, and beige continues from the gorgeous shots into Alex DiGerlando’s detail-oriented production design. He effectively shows New York’s 90’s grandeur across his well-decorated sets, from the austere Calvin Klein office to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ ornate apartment.

Bryce Dessner’s plucked-keys score consistently injects style into the show, even if weak music supervision, usage of pre-existing songs, sometimes takes the viewer out of the story.

Following Bessette and Kennedy’s growing comfort with one another is sweet and enjoyable. “Love Story” never feels particularly high stakes and often revolves around similar character interactions, but it does scratch that romantic itch well. 

It never rises to the heights of the family politics found in “The Crown,” but it is never as sappy as “The Four Seasons” either. 

“Love Story” is at its best when Pidgeon’s stellar performance takes center stage and she grapples with her desires to be with Kennedy while trying not to reveal too much of herself. 

It’s at its worst when the responsibility is Kelly’s. 

When half of the central couple isn’t compelling, “Love Story” can only reach limited heights. But it certainly soars, at least intermittently. 

“Love Story”’s nine episodes are now streaming on Hulu/FX.