The Kennedys may not like it, but the numbers speak for themselves. Once again, Ryan Murphy seems to have understood something fundamental about contemporary culture: audiences remain fascinated by stories that mix glamour, tragedy, and power, and few families encapsulate all of that as completely as the Kennedys.

The limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, airing on FX and available on Hulu and Disney+, has become the most-watched limited series in the network’s history across streaming platforms, according to figures released by the channel. The first five episodes alone have already accumulated more than 25 million hours viewed since the premiere on February 12.

And interest has not faded as the weeks go by. Quite the opposite. The fifth episode recorded a 51% increase in viewership compared with the premiere, a sign that word of mouth and public curiosity continue to push the series forward.

The impact goes far beyond ratings.

On social media, the show’s presence has exploded. Searches on TikTok for John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette rose by more than 9,100% over the past month, while the hashtag #lovestory has generated more than 21 million posts worldwide.

This kind of reach demonstrates something Murphy understands better than many producers: stories about real icons do not live only on the screen. They spill into culture, fashion, collective memory, and even consumer behavior.

The influence of the series is already appearing in unexpected places. The historic New York apothecary C.O. Bigelow, which sells the tortoiseshell headband associated with Bessette, has recorded the highest accessory sales in its 188-year history, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Panna II, the East Village Indian restaurant where the couple had their first date in the series, has seen a 40% increase in reservations, the New York Post reported.

At the center of everything is the story Murphy chose to revisit. Set in 1990s New York, the series follows the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, beginning with the day they met and tracing the almost mythic aura that came to surround the couple before the tragedy that would ultimately end their lives.

Paul Anthony Kelly plays JFK Jr., while Sarah Pidgeon portrays Bessette. The cast also includes Grace Gummer as Caroline Kennedy, Naomi Watts as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Alessandro Nivola as Calvin Klein, an important figure in Carolyn’s trajectory in the fashion world.

For a family historically attentive to the management of its own public narrative, the success of the series may be uncomfortable. The Kennedy clan has long tried to control how its stories are told — and by whom.

Ryan Murphy, however, belongs to a generation of storytellers who see these figures not only as historical characters but as modern mythology. And mythologies, once released into the collective imagination, rarely remain under the control of those who originally lived them.

Episode six of “Love Story” airs Thursday on FX and will stream on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ internationally.

If the numbers continue on this trajectory, Murphy will once again have proven something Hollywood has known since the days of Camelot: fascination with the Kennedys never disappears; it simply finds new ways to be told.