Television

'American Crime Story' Early Buzz: "So Compelling, Even Though We Know How It Ends"

American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
By Peter Sciretta

I didn't get to sleep last night because I got sucked into binge watching Netflix's Making of a Murderer documentary miniseries. I guess thats the new "my dog ate my homework"? If you're not watching that series, you should check it out ASAP (and learn a lesson from me and begin watching earlier in the day, because you won't be able to stop). While I don't expect American Crime Story to be as gripping of an experience as Making of a Murderer, but during that show's court sequences I began to get excited about Ryan Murphy's new FX series.

American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is set to premiere on FX in February, and the first reactions have begun to appear online. Fox has sent out screeners for journalists to binge over the holiday break, and the early buzz is pretty high. The limited series re-examines the infamous O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers, exploring "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." The show stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson and John Travolta as defense attorney Robert Shapiro. Hit the jump to see the first tweets in our American Crime Story early buzz roundup.

The 10-episode limited FX series will chronicle the murder and subsequent court case, the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, told from the perspective of the lawyers as depicted in Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Along with Gooding and Travolta, David Schwimmer stars 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. Here is official information about the new show from FX:

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.

Production of the FX limited series is currently underway in Los Angeles. Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winning producer and Emmy Award winning Director Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, The Normal Heart) directed the first episode and serves as Executive Producer, along with Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Brad Falchuk. American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is written by Golden Globe-winning producers Alexander and Karaszewski (Big Eyes, The People v. Larry Flynt). American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.

American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson will premiere on February 2nd, 2016 on FX.

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