After spinning a yarn on American Horror Story, writer, producer and showrunner Ryan Murphy is swapping the gothic corridors of FX’s acclaimed drama for the courtroom with February’s anthology series, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson.
Serving as executive producer on the miniseries, Murphy will help bring the infamous court case of O.J. Simpson to the small screen. That’s a role to be filled by Cuba Gooding Jr., and today’s one-minute snippet showcases the star-studded ensemble that the network has pulled together. Aiming to offer a more conclusive verdict on the historic trial – which at one point included Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian – FX has promised to tell the untold story of the 1995 case, though exactly how much the limited series can disclose will be told in time.
If nothing else, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson has pulled together an enviable roster of talent for Murphy’s procedural with John Travolta starring as defense attorney Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as defense attorney Robert Kardashian, Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance as defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, and Bruce Greenwood as Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti.
FX’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson will premiere on the network come February 2. American Horror Story, meanwhile, has recently been confirmed to return for season 6.
Based on the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin, the limited series is a look at the O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers. It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt.
