The Tamesis
“This love story is filled with love and I hope you feel it tonight,” Ryan Murphy told a packed audience at Manhattan’s Carnegie Hall on Tuesday night. The prolific writer, director and producer is gearing up to keep audiences rapt for the premiere. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Bassett— This sacred venue is fitting, considering the late couple were frequent visitors there during their lifetimes.
The highly anticipated FX series, which chronicled JFK Jr. and Bassett’s whirlwind courtship, public attention and ultimately tragic fate, sparked months of online buzz, much of it centered around the uncanny resemblance between the actors and their real-life counterparts. Martha Stewart is one of those who longs to see it for herself, Gilded Age Louisa Jacobson — whose sister Grace Gummer plays Caroline Kennedy — and white lotus Sam Nivola — was there to proudly cheer on his father, Alessandro Nivola, who also played Calvin Klein.
Before the screening, Murphy walked around the room, inviting every member of the cast to stand for a standing ovation. Before her inevitable take on the show’s break, Zankel Hall gushed: “Meet your Caroline Bassett: Sarah Pidgeon.” (The actress was a star in her own right in a sequined gown from Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2026 collection, complete with feathers from the waist down.)
The lights dimmed and then came back up an hour later, but the enthusiasm on people’s faces remained undiminished. The audience’s applause lasted until the final credits. Apparently, it’s very popular. Of course, no screening would be complete without a celebratory after-party. The festivities continued by the pool late into the night. Everything about this stylish mid-century modern restaurant pays homage to the way revered former President John F. Kennedy once dined in the White House, from original presentation to prime rib.
The space also comes with some new decor for the occasion: a bookcase filled with clutter that is likely to be found in the duo’s home. Photo albums and frames and vintage journals of Paul Anthony Kelly’s JFK Jr. and Pidgeon’s Bassett george (JFK Jr.’s own groundbreaking political-lifestyle publication.) Best of all? The accessories that adorable style muse CBK can’t leave without: caps, keys and her signature oval sunglasses.
Guests buzzed, sipped, and danced around the room’s white floral installation, many of them eyeing the spicy macaroni platters from Big Food Group that were being circulated. (The indulgence feels obligatory—this is Carbon’s sister restaurant, after all.) Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, known for her preference for SpaghettiO eaten straight from the can, would surely approve.
