How Connor Hines won over Ryan Murphy and beat impostor syndrome to make 'Love Story'

Growing up, my grandparents virtually had a shrine to President Kennedy and Jackie. For galore descendants of Irish immigrants, particularly from the Boston area, the Kennedys were the realization of the American dream: a household that overcame anti-Irish prejudice and built an empire that would propel 1 lad to the White House, 2 others to the Senate, and generations of nationalist servants aft them. Needless to say, the lore of the household was embedded successful maine from a young age.

Around 2020, I descended into a Kennedy rabbit hole, starting with the tycoon and patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and moving my mode done the generations. When I reached John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s story, a power went disconnected wrong maine — that jolt of adrenaline and inspiration you commune to stumble upon arsenic a writer. Yes, their courtship was singular, sweeping and astatine times volatile, but I was mostly struck by the acute disconnect betwixt the mode they were posthumously characterized by friends and household and the often misogynistic, reductive communicative that surrounded them astatine the time. The much I work astir them, the much convinced I became that determination was an wholly caller communicative to beryllium told — done a caller lens that could humanize and dimensionalize 2 radical who had been truthful wide mythologized.

But obsession does not a amusement make. I was much than alert that I wasn’t astatine a spot successful my vocation wherever a web oregon streaming work would apt entrust maine with a communicative of that magnitude and lore — until a fewer months later, erstwhile it was announced successful Deadline that Ryan Murphy was launching a caller anthology series, “American Love Story.” The archetypal season: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon successful “Love Story.”

(FX)

Fortunately for me, the heads of Color Force, Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson — the producers down acclaimed bid specified arsenic “The People v. O.J. Simpson” and “Say Nothing” — work a illustration of excavation and agreed to conscionable with me. After our extended treatment astir my involvement successful the show, they suggested I conscionable with Ryan to locomotion him done my instrumentality connected the story. While this mightiness look similar the logical adjacent measurement successful the hiring process for a Ryan Murphy show, the proposition felt thing but. Ryan Murphy was a sanction that entered my psyche circa 1999, astatine the property of 11, erstwhile I would sneak retired of my country to ticker Ryan’s archetypal series, “Popular”: a clever, biting, provocative amusement that, similar truthful galore of his aboriginal works, upended the presumption quo of the genre and showcased characters — and talented, overlooked actors — recovered obscurity other connected TV.

I spent astir 3 months successful the trenches with Brad and Nina, deepening and refining my presumption — 1 that I’d recite successful the shower, connected runs, astatine Trader Joe’s, portion I drove. It was a clang people successful storytelling, producing, and knowing the alchemy that propelled truthful galore of Ryan’s shows into the zeitgeist.

Most mega-producers apt would person balked astatine my less-than-robust résumé, but Ryan is idiosyncratic who moves instinctively and decisively, and aft our meeting, helium offered maine the accidental to constitute the show. In the tone of afloat transparency, I instantly experienced astir debilitating impostor syndrome, but aft respective frantic telephone calls to my agents, manager and therapist, I accepted.

Connor Hines.

(Evan Mulling / For The Times)

I’m not definite I’ve ever obsessed implicit thing the mode I did the satellite of “Love Story.” I knew it was a tremendous responsibility, and a communicative that had to beryllium handled with care, but I was besides exhilarated by the privilege of penning astir a taxable that not lone I loved deeply, but 1 that my grandparents had loved profoundly arsenic well. Sadly, they passed distant earlier this each came to fruition, but I tin lone ideate however blessed — and, knowing my grandfather, however liable — they would consciousness seeing my dreams materialize successful specified a fortuitous way.

Unlike galore Hollywood experiences, moving connected “Love Story” turned retired to beryllium everything I had hoped for and more, and contempt astir a decennary of watching projects wither connected the improvement vine, it felt precisely similar wherever I was expected to be.