Daryl Hannah has some issues with Ryan Murphy. And she's far from the only one.
The actress and star of films like "Splash" (1984) and the "Kill Bill" franchise (2003 and 2005) wrotea scathing op-ed in The New York TimesMarch 6 decrying Murphy's latest buzzy TV show,"Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette."Hannah, who was in a relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. prior to Bessette, has major issues with the way the series depicted her, as portrayed by young actress Dree Hemingway.
"I have generally chosen not to respond to media coverage of me," Hannah, 65,writes. "But a recent tragedy-exploitingtelevision seriesabout John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette features a character using my name and presents her as me. The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident."
"The character 'Daryl Hannah' portrayed in the series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John. ... I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone's private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis' death to a dog's."
Hannah goes on to point out an interview with the series' producer Nina Jacobsen, who reasoned that Hannah had to be portrayed in an unflattering light for narrative reasons, because she's an "adversary" to the titular couple's romance. In essence, Hannah argues, she got the villain edit.
Having watched eight out of nine episodes of "Love Story," I tend to agree with Hannah about how the series chooses to frame her character. It feels dirty, like a deliberate character assassination or smear campaign. Maybe this time, Murphy and his fellow producers have gone too far.
More:What it took to bring JFK Jr. and Carolyn's 'Love Story' back to life
"Love Story" is just the latest of Murphy's ripped-from-the-headlines dramas that has garnered steep criticism from the real life people portrayed and their families. And while many shows and films are "based on a true story," Murphy in particular has a controversial knack for sensationalizing emotionally perilous moments from recent American history that trigger his real-life subjects to set the record straight. (No one was very upset about, say, classic films like "All the Presidents' Men" turning journalists into heroes or Disney depicting the 1980 men's Olympic hockey team in "Miracle.") As the number of Murphy critics piles up faster than the number of shows he can create, it's worth wondering: How long can this go on?
From a purely legal standpoint, Murphy can do almost whatever he wants when creating these series.
"The First Amendment and freedom of speech give filmmakers a lot of latitude in making movies or television shows about actual events and real people," says Los Angeles entertainment attorney Tre Lovell, owner of The Lovell Firm. "They don't have to get the permission of whomever they are depicting."
"The creator has the right to invent characters and dramatize and fictionalize certain elements of the story," adds Alex Yousefzadeh, partner at Donaldson Callif Perez LLP. Filmmakers "can legally create composite characters based on actual people, timelines may be rearranged and events can be reimagined."
It's hard to say goodbye, but fans of these TV shows will have to do just that in 2026. From fantasy epics like Starz's "Outlander" (starring Sam Heughan, left, and
Caitriona Balfe, pictured) to talk shows like "The Kelly Clarkson Show" and "Late Night With Stephen Colbert," these 20 shows are ending this year." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Jeff Daniels, left, and Stephen Colbert on CBS's
"The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." The show is set to end in May 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Homelander (Antony Starr, left) and Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) in "The Boys." The Prime Video comic book adaptation will conclude with the fifth and final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Jeremy Renner, left, as Mike McLusky and Edie Falco as Nina Hobbs in "Mayor of Kingstown." The show will end with its fifth season." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
CBS's "The Neighborhood" will end at Season 8. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Football drama "All American" will end on the CW after eight seasons." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Robson Green, left, as Geordie Keating and Tom Brittney as Will Davenport in "Grantchester." The PBS mainstay will end after 11 seasons." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
David Tennant (as Crowley) and Michael Sheen (Aziraphale) in "Good Omens." The Prime Video series will return for a 90-minute concluding film in 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Netflix's fantasy juggernaut "The Witcher" will have one final season in 2026. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Andie MacDowell in "The Way Home" on Hallmark, which has a fourth and final season in 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Netflix teen drama "Outer Banks" will end after a fifth season this year. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Wanda Sykes speaks to Sherri Shepherd on
"Sherri." It's another talk show taking a final bow in 2026." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Showtime's long-running drama "The Chi" will have one last hurrah in Season 8 this year. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Netflix's celebrated "Queer Eye" has its 10th and final season of makeovers in 2026. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
After a dramatic third season, Hulu's twisty
"Tell Me Lies" announced its ending." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Wanda Sykes' Netflix sitcom "The Upshaws" is ending after a Part 7 on the streaming service." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Kiawentiio as Katara, Gordon Cormier as Aang and Ian Ousley as Sokka in "Avatar: The Last Airbender." The adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated series will end after its 2026 third season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
The teens of "Yellowjackets" will say goodbye to the Wilderness after 2026's fourth season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Tommy and Tariq reunite in the series finale of "Power Book IV: Force." Starz's spinoff of "Power" is set to end with its third season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Say it isn't so! These TV shows are ending in 2026
It's hard to say goodbye, but fans of these TV shows will have to do just that in 2026. From fantasy epics like Starz's "Outlander" (starring Sam Heughan, left, andCaitriona Balfe, pictured) to talk shows like "The Kelly Clarkson Show" and "Late Night With Stephen Colbert," these 20 shows are ending this year.
But there are limits, of course. "They are not allowed to defame anyone, use private facts or information about that person that are not widely known or in the public domain, or somehow imply that the person endorses the show without the person's consent," Lovell says.
But there are limits that also go beyond the law. Murphy and his collaborators, whether at Netflix or FX and Hulu under the Disney corporate umbrella, are trying to sell their stories to the public. And ifthe court of public opinion turns, they could lose the very thing their sensationalized TV shows are trying to achieve.
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Referring to the second season of Murphy's Netflix series, "Monster," about Erik and Lyle Menendez, writer Jeffrey Berrios in 2024 questioned if audiences were turning on Murphy's lurid distortion of the truth, particularly as his productions appeared to exploit victims of crime or imply sexual relationships. (Season two implied an incestuous connection between the two brothers.)
"The backlash has almost become bigger than the show and has shifted into the questioning of Murphy's character,"wrote in Corsair magazine. The latest "Monster" installment, which debuted in 2025 about serial killer Ed Gein, had adismal 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The backlash Berrios refers to has been building for a decade. It goes all the way back to 2016's "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson," the Emmy-winning crime drama that heralded a decade of Murphy adaptations of real life events. (Murphy first made his name in Hollywood creating fully fictional, over-the-top shows like "Nip/Tuck," "Glee" and "American Horror Story.") Families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, who Simpson was accused of murdering, called out the showfor a "lack of respect"to the victims of the central crime. Season 2, about the killing of fashion magnate Gianni Versace, saw his family similarly derisive of the show, saying at the time, "this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction."
"Monster" has drawn similar backlash, especially in response to a 2022 season about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Family members of Dahmer's victims, including Eric Perry, a relative of Dahmer victim Errol Lindsey, were outraged by the show. Perry said in a September 2022 statement that it was"retraumatizing."Season 3, about Erik and Lyle Menendez, receivedcriticism from the brothers themselves.And "Love Story" has haters from multiple corners: In addition to Hannah's rebuke, Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy's nephew,called it"grotesque."
While the relatives of men brutally murdered by one of the most notorious serial killers in history are detailing their pain in statements, Murphy, Netflix and everyone else involved in his shows are profiting. Murphy's deal with the streamer, which has included three seasons of "Monster" so far,was worth an estimated $300 million.Now back making shows for FX, Hulu and parent company Disney ("Love Story" plays on FX and Hulu), his shows court Emmy nominations, audience views and ultimately, major revenue for the corporation.
"From an ethical lens, most people would agree that harming or retraumatizing survivors of any crime is wrong and unacceptable," says Yousefzadeh, the lawyer, while acknowledging that Murphy doesn't have a legal problem here. "A producer should always be mindful of how to respectfully tell a story based on facts, and the ethical implications of involving survivors should certainly be a part of the calculus."
It's worth noting that Murphy is a producer of "Love Story" but not the main creator − that's Connor Hines (Murphy is a co-creator of "Monster" and a producer of "American Crime Story"). He's also far from the only creator in Hollywood to take flack for a loose relationship with the truth. Hulu's 2022 miniseries "Pam and Tommy," about the romance between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee with a heavy empahasis on the sex tape released without their consent, was created by Robert Siegel and produced by Seth Rogen among others, and has drawn fierce criticism from Anderson. Four years later, at the 2026 Golden Globes, Andersonsaidshe felt "weird" and "yucky" being in the same room as Rogen.
But Murphy has made it is personal brand to capitalize on these huge moments in our cultural history, be they horrific true crime, tabloid fodder or love and tragedy, and twist them into something emotionally manipulative and voyeuristic. Many may complain, but audiences keep tuning in in huge numbers. Is he telling authentic human stories or titillating audiences hungry for more death, drama, destruction and despair?
That hunger may make us all complicit. There are ways to tell these stories without exploitation and harm, like 2022 Peacock series "A Friend of the Family," which is about something as awful as childhood sexual abuse, but was done in conjunction with the survivor, who wanted to tell her own story. Nuanced and graceful, "Friend"stands in direct opposition of "Monster,"which debuted around the same time.
And yet, these fictionalized stories have real-life consequences. Hannah detailed threatening messages she has received in the weeks since "Love Story" debuted on FX. "When entertainment borrows a real person's name, it can permanently impact her reputation," she writes.
How many more reputations can these TV shows ruin? Murphy shows no signs of slowing down his prolific Hollywood efforts: A fourth "Monster,"about Lizzie Borden and starring Ella Beatty, is already in the works, among many future projects. Will we, perhaps eventually eventually, realize maybe we shouldn't be so cavalier with the stories of our fellow humans?
We'll find out a few dozen Murphy TV limited series from now.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Love Story' to 'Dahmer' – Can Ryan Murphy keep rewriting the past?
Daryl Hannah has some issues with Ryan Murphy. And she's far from the only one. The actress and star of f...
