One of the buzziest series of the year, FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette gives viewers a glimpse into the romance between former President John F. Kennedy’s son and then-Calvin Klein publicist Carolyn Bessette, as they navigated life together in the public eye.

One of the most acclaimed episodes of the season, “Battery Park,” is directed by Crystle Roberson Dorsey, who’s also known for her work on television shows like All American, Greenleaf, American Soul and more.

Maintaining integrity in a show based on true events

If you’re unfamiliar with the turn of events that led to the tragic deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, this is a spoiler alert. But Dorsey says it was a collaborative effort by the entire team to approach the portrayals of Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon) and John (Paul Anthony Kelly), given that they aren’t here to tell their stories.

“We all approached it with as much care and sensitivity as possible. A lot of research went into it,” Dorsey said in an interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, adding, “A lot is an understatement for the amount of research and care.”

She continued, “We tried to approach every scene as best we could with that care and that sensitivity.”

Dorsey shared, “As a director, I like to be as collaborative as possible, especially on a project like this, because I know that the actors have done their research, and they’ve studied these people intensely, as well as the writers, as well as the producers, so that well of knowledge that everyone came in with allowed us to really do something that we felt honored their love story.”

Exploring the couple’s first public quarrel

Episode 5 zeroes in on two major plot points for the show — Carolyn meets John’s larger family, and it ends with them sorting through their first public fight, something that the couple was reportedly notoriously known for.

“I wanted that fight to be steeped in love, and I wanted to portray that they were fighting for their love. They were not fighting each other. They were not really arguing against each other. They were arguing for each other,” Dorsey said. “I think anyone who has ever loved someone in their lifetime and who’s had a relationship spat or anything like that, can attest to how, in that moment, you really just want that person. You really just want to love them and show them that you love them, and the reason why you may even be arguing or fighting is because you love them. So, I put love first in that fight, and I wanted to make sure that it came across that they were fighting for each other, and they were fighting for their love.”

The nostalgia of the 1990s

The show is embedded with ’90s nostalgia, including dating before the age of social media and the technological advancements society faces today.

“I was just telling somebody how refreshing it is to watch something from the ’90s,” Dorsey said. “It feels good to escape from the 2020s, when we have all sorts of different ways to communicate, and how communication in love or infatuation or in like was very simple, and it was very just pure. There was this really cool, almost puppy love about the way you would approach someone or talk to someone, or write your number down and give your number to someone. It was just such a beautiful time to fall in love, and I think that’s why audiences today are really resonating with it.”

The fly-on-the-wall dynamic of the series

Throughout the season, viewers have praised the fly-on-the-wall approach to the series, noting an almost voyeuristic quality, one where the audience quietly observes a relationship that exists in its own orbit.

For Episodes 5 and 7 that Dorsey directed, this was done with much thought and intention.

“I’m very intentional as a director with where I want to put the camera, because I’m always thinking about the audience,” she said. “I’m always thinking about their experience and how they’re going to kind of move and navigate through this story and this particular episode. So, I’m very intentional about when I want the audience to feel like they’re behind the curtain, intimately with the characters of John and Carolyn, versus when the audience can take more of that voyeuristic view,” adding, “It is a theme of my episodes, both of them, that these two people were in love in the public eye, and I can’t imagine what that would feel like to have to love out loud with my whole heart and also be in the public eye as the world is, you know, judging every decision and everything that I do in my relationship. So I wanted the audience to feel and understand like how challenging it is to navigate as a person in love. And, you know, I wanted to be intentional about when to show that like there were other people looking and judging their relationship, versus when we’re just with them in the comfort of their home, you know, just being safe and secure. So that’s two totally different things for them to have to navigate, but they had to do it, and it was really hard.”

Episode 7 explores the weight of the spotlight

Along with directing Episode 5, Dorsey connected the pieces in Episode 7, which showcases for viewers the intensity of Bessette and Kennedy’s relationship under almost-constant public surveillance.

“It really gets much more intense in Episode 7. So, in Episode 5, when they’re having their quarrel in public and it is in those voyeuristic angles, and things are used, is to sort of begin to peek at how [they are] as a couple in the public eye, and they’re having to love each other and maneuver through some of the most challenging times of their life and of their love with everyone watching,” she explained. “And so it’s definitely planted in 5, and then in 7, it ramps up, major intensity.”

Dorsey has found herself in a week of a double-header with episodes across two Ryan Murphy series she’s directed, releasing simultaneously, thanks to Love Story and The Beauty.

“All the episodes are kind of coming out, airing around the same time, which is really fun,” she concluded. “Being in the Ryan Murphy family, and being able to shoot with him and shoot those stories is like a dream come true. You know, he just has his finger on the pulse of culture and of the stories that are not being told yet, and so, I’m just excited to be in that family, and I look forward to continuing to tell those stories with Ryan Murphy Productions, FX, and Hulu.”

Love Story, Episodes 1 through 5, are currently streaming on Hulu, with new episodes on Thursdays until the series finale on March 26.