The Daily Our Enduring Fascination With the Kennedys
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Mar 29, 2026 
Alexandra Jacobs, a New York Times Book Review critic, dives into America’s lasting obsession with the Kennedys. She explores why JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette still captivate pop culture. They get into 1990s Manhattan glamour, fashion minimalism, pre-smartphone longing, the polarizing reaction to “Love Story,” and the ethics of turning real lives into juicy TV.
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The Show Sells A Fairy Tale Inside 1990s Glamour
- Alexandra Jacobs argues Love Story works because it combines a fairy-tale romance with 1990s glamour industries that viewers now romanticize.
- The series turns John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette into American royalty inside a prosperous, glossy Manhattan of fashion and magazines.
Love Story Became A Consumer And Internet Phenomenon
- Love Story became bigger than a TV show because viewers now perform fandom publicly through shopping, posting, and imitation.
- Alexandra Jacobs points to 40 million viewing hours, Calvin Klein demand, C.O. Bigelow headbands, and JFK Jr. lookalike contests.
Why A Critically Mocked Show Still Became Addictive
- Critics often disliked the series even as audiences devoured it, suggesting camp and recognizability can outweigh quality.
- Alexandra Jacobs calls Jacqueline Onassis’s Camelot dance “cringe” and says the show may fit a new era of “it’s so bad, it’s bingeable.”
