Ryan Murphy’s new FX limited series, Love Story, is already generating buzz for its soundtrack choices, with Kate Bush’s 1989 song “This Woman’s Perform” poised to experience a resurgence similar to her 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill,” which gained renewed popularity following its inclusion in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
The series, created and overseen by Connor Hines, chronicles the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. And Carolyn Bessette, culminating in their tragic deaths in a 1999 plane crash. The premiere episodes depict the couple’s initial meeting at a charity event, scored by Bush’s emotive ballad. Originally featured in the 1988 film She’s Having a Baby, starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern, “This Woman’s Work” appeared on Bush’s sixth studio album, The Sensual World, and was later covered by Maxwell in the late 1990s.
Hines acknowledged the success of “Running Up That Hill” and expressed hope for a similar boost for “This Woman’s Work.” “I don’t recognize if you can get a bigger bump than the one she got from Stranger Things — but we can only facilitate,” he said, attributing the selection to director Max Winkler and Murphy’s keen ear for music. “And that, to me, is one of the more effective ones.”
Sarah Pidgeon, who portrays Carolyn Bessette in the series, revealed that the song wasn’t played on set during filming of the initial meeting scene. “There were a few songs written in the script in terms of needle-drops, but I don’t think we knew it was going to be Kate Bush in that scene,” she stated. Paul Kelly, playing John F. Kennedy Jr., added that the soundtrack is “incredible and highly transportative,” noting the inclusion of other ‘80s and ‘90s hits like “Name” by the Goo Goo Dolls and “Nice Dream” by Radiohead.
Jim Malone, the show’s music supervisor, also works on HBO’s Euphoria, and executive producer Brad Jacobson highlighted the intentional curation of the soundtrack. “Part of the fun of the show are these great ’90s music cues … Songs you’ve maybe forgotten about, but suddenly bring you this great sense memory,” Jacobson said. “Each episode is filled with [musical] Easter eggs.”
Jacobson further explained the deliberate effort to elevate the presentation of the couple’s first encounter beyond documented reality. “When you glance at the pictures of that charity fundraiser, it doesn’t look that glamorous,” he noted. “The decision that Connor and Ryan made was to really elevate this into more of a fairy-tale meeting with a grand staircase and the music. We wanted it to feel really romantic and special.”
The series premiere continues with a scene of John Kennedy Jr. Seeking solace at Carolyn Bessette’s apartment following the death of his mother, Jackie Kennedy. Kelly described the scene, which involved riding a bicycle through rain-soaked Manhattan streets, as physically demanding. “There were no music cues while I was in the bicycle in the rain — just cold, wet water,” he said, adding that he had his own music playing in his head to cope with the conditions.
Pidgeon emphasized the emotional connection between the characters in the final scene of the premiere, where John seeks refuge with Carolyn. “There’s some kind of connection between they have that penetrates … They really observe each other,” she explained. “And in that final scene, because of the devastation of losing his mother, any of the bravado that’s intrinsic to John is gone. He’s just so vulnerable, and the only way to get through to him is to have that connection. Carolyn puts her hand on his chest, and that’s the grounding force when his world is crumbling.” She also praised the scene’s simplicity, noting the absence of music and reliance on the sounds of breathing and rain.
