From 'Love Story' To 'Monster', It's Time For Ryan Murphy To Focus On Fiction

Writer and director Ryan Murphy recently shifted from telling true stories of “monsters” to telling true love stories, beginning with producing Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (2026). The series tells the real-life tragic love story of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (Sarah Pidgeon). It takes viewers back to the 1990s, when JFK, Jr. was quite the celebrity. As the tragic, handsome son of the late President John F. Kennedy, JFK Jr. was always a paparazzi target.

When he began dating Bessette, it drew extensive media buzz. Their story captivated the world. Now, 30 years later, a new generation can watch the love story that captured the world’s attention. While it’s an intriguing story to adapt to the screen, it hasn’t been able to avoid some of the pitfalls typical of Murphy’s true story adaptations.

How Much Of ‘Love Story’ Is True?

When it comes to true stories, it’s a given that TV show and film adaptations take creative liberties. The audience expects tweaks to improve the entertainment and flow. However, Murphy takes creative liberties to an entirely new level in his works. Love Story is his latest true story, and it bends the truth so much that it includes a disclaimer acknowledging some “fictional elements.”

The series partially rewrites history, embellishing first meetings, family dynamics, and even the characters’ personalities. For the sake of drama, it embellishes Bessette’s career achievements, adds some unsubstantiated tension between the Kennedy family, infuses Jackie Kennedy’s (Naomi Watts) funeral with additional drama, and tries to imagine the unknowable, intimate moments of JFK Jr and Bessette’s relationship. 

To be fair, Love Story is rarely disrespectful toward its main characters. The show infuses the story with a captivating sense of romance and tragedy and offers intriguing insights into the Kennedy family. Even so, there’s this sense that you’re not hearing the actual story, but instead a reimagining that makes it so much less complex and more melodramatic than it truly was.

Ryan Murphy Has Stirred Controversy Before With His Dramatizations

Love Story has some embellishment, but it’s far from Murphy’s most controversial take on a true story. In Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024), Murphy outraged viewers by suggesting that the brothers had an incestuous relationship, even though the idea is based solely on an unsubstantiated, obscure theory. 

Murphy continued to disappoint with Monster: The Ed Gein Story (2025), which embellished Gein’s story almost beyond recognition. It even completely fabricated stories of victims to instigate what felt like very gratuitous scenes of violent crimes. With nearly every true story Murphy has covered, from Jeffrey Dahmer to JFK, Jr., there’s the difficult question of the emotional impact the dramatization has on those still connected to the story and whether entertainment is enough justification for a potentially negative impact.

Ryan Murphy’s Fiction Shines Among His True Story Controversies

Murphy’s true story adaptations may blur the line a bit too much between fact and fiction, but perhaps he tends to lean farther toward fiction because fiction is what he excels at. His best projects are works of fiction, including Glee (2009), American Horror Story (2011), and The Beauty (2026). Back in 2009, Murphy did something no one thought possible by proving that musicals can be successful on the small screen. Glee, his biting high school satire, with excellent music and delicate handling of social issues, is relatable, enjoyable, and representative. For many, it still holds a special place in TV history.

Based on his Monster anthology, we also know Murphy can go dark, and that ability is well-suited to the horror genre. He is known for going over the top, and American Horror Story lets him do that to his heart’s desire. It has all the violence, sex, twists, and absurdity you could want from a Murphy production. If you love Murphy’s tackling of social issues but don’t want him to hold back on the shock factor, American Horror Story is a must-see. 

Recently, Murphy returned to horror with The Beauty. The body-horror series is highly reminiscent of The Substance (2024), employing grotesque, over-the-top body horror while still imbuing the show with a sharp commentary on beauty standards. The series has caused the same stir and hype as Love Story, but without any of the unease.

I believe Murphy is the kind of creator, writer, and producer who doesn’t like to be restrained. He thrives in outlets where he can add that dramatic flair and shock factor, which lends itself quite well to horror like American Horror Story or soapy procedural dramas like 9-1-1 (2018). True stories are great, but they come with a duty of delicacy and sensitivity, and a measure of truth that can be stifling for a bold storyteller like Murphy. With fiction, though, Murphy can give viewers his most unrestrained works, and there’s definitely an audience for his unique brand of TV.