American Crime Story

Based on Jeffrey Toobin's The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson, the season explores the O.J. Simpson (Cuba Gooding Jr.) murder case as well as the combination of prosecution confidence, defense wiliness, and the Los Angeles Police Department's history with the city's African-American community that gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt.[10][11]

The season also stars Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden, Kenneth Choi as Lance Ito, Christian Clemenson as Bill Hodgman, Bruce Greenwood as Gil Garcetti, Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey, Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, and Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran.

Based on Maureen Orth's Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History, the season examines the July 1997 assassination of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace (Édgar Ramírez) by sociopathic spree killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss).[12][13]

The season also stars Ricky Martin as Antonio D'Amico and Penélope Cruz as Donatella Versace.

The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal will serve as the basis for the third season of the series, Impeachment,[9] following the ensuing events during Clinton's presidency, based on Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.[14][15]

The season will star Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky, Margo Martindale as Lucianne Goldberg,[16] and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones. Originally slated to premiere in September 2020,[9] the network pushed back the air date due to Murphy's schedule[17] and later due to the ongoing COVID pandemic.[18] The network previously considered pushing back the air date due to the 2020 election.[19] On November 15, 2019, Clive Owen was announced to portray President Clinton along with Anthony Green set to portray Al Gore.[20] In January 2020, it was announced that Billy Eichner would play the role of journalist Matt Drudge[21] and Betty Gilpin would portray conservative media pundit Ann Coulter.[22]

On October 7, 2014, it was announced that FX had ordered a ten-episode season of American Crime Story, developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and executive produced by Alexander and Karaszewski, as well as Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, who co-created such series as Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Pose. Murphy also directed the pilot episode. Other executive producers are Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.[43] Co-executive producers are Anthony Hemingway and D. V. DeVincentis. All ten episodes were expected to be written by Alexander and Karaszewski.[10][44] The series was previously in development at Fox but since moved to the company's sibling cable network FX.[45]

Based on Sheri Fink's book Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, a season would take an unflinching look at the decisions doctors made at Memorial Medical Center.[46] In August 2017, it was announced that Sarah Paulson would star as Dr. Anna Pou, who was on duty at the hospital when Katrina struck.[47][48]

When first announced as the second season, Katrina was said to be using Douglas Brinkley's book The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the primary source material,[46][49] with Annette Bening cast as Kathleen Blanco, Matthew Broderick as Michael D. Brown, and Dennis Quaid as George W. Bush.[50] Cuba Gooding Jr.[48] and Courtney B. Vance[48] were set to return after their participation in the first season, but after the source material was changed, only Sarah Paulson was set to star as Anna Pou, with the other actors such as Bening, Broderick, and Quaid leaving the project. However, it was said the producers would try to find new characters for at least some of those actors already cast.[47]

The so-called Katrina season was originally planned to be the second season of the series, with The Assassination of Gianni Versace following as the third. However, in June 2017, it was announced that Katrina would not begin production until early 2018 and that Versace would air in early 2018, replacing Katrina as the show's second installment.[51] In early February 2019, John Landgraf acknowledged that the Katrina storyline was cancelled and won't be the subject of any season of the series either.[8]

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story was picked up on October 18, 2016, and was announced as the third season of the series, following the season about Katrina.[12] The announcement also revealed that English author Tom Rob Smith would be the writer of multiple episodes of the season, including the first two,[12] while executive producer Ryan Murphy would be directing the season premiere.[33] Following the airing of the first season's finale in April 2016, it was revealed that series creators Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski would not be returning for the second season.[52] However, in June 2017, it was announced that Katrina would not begin production until early 2018 and that Versace would air in early 2018, replacing Katrina as the show's second installment.[51]

In January 2017, it was announced that a fourth season was in development, to air after Katrina. It was to cover the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and the ensuing events during Clinton's presidency, based on Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.[14][15] In February 2017, Ryan Murphy revealed that Sarah Paulson was to star in the season, but not as Hillary Clinton.[53] However, in April 2018, Murphy revealed that the season was scrapped and no longer in development.[54]

On August 6, 2019, it was announced that the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal season was back in development as the third season of the series and that it would be titled Impeachment. The season began production in October 2020, despite the original release date slated as September 27, 2020.[55] It was also revealed that Sarah Paulson, Beanie Feldstein, and Annaleigh Ashford would star as Linda Tripp, Monica Lewinsky, and Paula Jones, respectively, with Lewinsky herself signing on as a co-producer.[9] Later that month, it was announced that Hillary Clinton would appear as a character in the series, but that she would not have a significant role.[56]

On November 15, 2019, it was reported that Oscar-nominated actor Clive Owen will be playing the role of Bill Clinton along with Anthony Green set to portray Al Gore.[57]

For season 1, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson were the first to be cast as Simpson and Marcia Clark, respectively.[58] Subsequently, David Schwimmer was cast as Robert Kardashian.[59] In January 2015, it was reported that John Travolta had joined the cast as Robert Shapiro; he would also serve as producer.[60] In February 2015, Courtney B. Vance joined the series as Johnnie Cochran.[61] In March 2015, it was announced that Connie Britton would co-star as Faye Resnick.[62] April 2015 saw the casting of Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden,[63] Jordana Brewster as Denise Brown,[64] and Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito.[65] In May 2015, it was confirmed Selma Blair would be portraying Kris Kardashian Jenner.[66] In July 2015, it was announced Nathan Lane had joined the cast as F. Lee Bailey.[67]

In February 2017, Annette Bening joined the cast of the ultimately unproduced Katrina as Kathleen Blanco,[68] while Matthew Broderick was cast as Michael D. Brown.[69] That same month, Édgar Ramírez and Darren Criss joined the cast of The Assassination of Gianni Versace as Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan, respectively.[70]

Initial reports announced that Lady Gaga would portray Donatella Versace in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, but Murphy confirmed that they were false.[71][72] Penélope Cruz was later cast in the role.[73] In April 2017, it was announced that Ricky Martin had joined the cast of The Assassination of Gianni Versace as Antonio D'Amico, Versace's longtime partner.[74] On April 28, 2017, Annaleigh Ashford was seen filming on the set of The Assassination of Gianni Versace with Criss.[75] On June 21, 2017, it was announced that Ashford's role in the series would be as Elizabeth Cote, a friend of Cunanan's since high school.[76] On May 5, 2017, Murphy posted a photo on Instagram of Criss and Max Greenfield on the set of the season. On June 21, 2017, it was announced that Finn Wittrock would play Jeffrey Trail, Cunanan's first victim.

Principal photography for season one began on May 14, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.[64][77] According to set photos, principal photography of Versace began at the beginning of May 2017, in Miami, Florida.[78]

The first season of American Crime Story has received critical acclaim. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the season an approval rating of 97%, based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story brings top-shelf writing, directing, and acting to bear on a still-topical story while shedding further light on the facts – and provoking passionate responses along the way."[90] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 90 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[91]

The second season of American Crime Story received positive reviews. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the season an approval rating of 89%, based on 61 reviews, with an average rating of 7.09/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Assassination of Versace starts with a bang and unfurls slowly, moving backward through an intricate (and occasionally convoluted) murder mystery anchored by a career-defining performance from Darren Criss."[92] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[93]