By Tarifah Bin Sulayem
DUBAI — Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, creators of shows like Glee and American Horror Story, move in a new direction with “American Crime Story”: “The People v. O.J. Simpson.” Each season of the show will focus on important crimes in American history with a unique perspective. In the pilot, writers and directors chose to include the entire story, not just the trial itself. Murphy and Falchuk have already announced plans for their second season.
Background
The O.J. Simpson trial was the most publicized case in American history because of its celebrity and media coverage. Simpson, a retired NFL athlete, was charged with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and waiter, Ronald Goldman. The case was covered in over 2,000 news segments during its investigation and trial.
Simpson had a record of abusing his ex-wife, and police officers were dispatched to the Brown-Simpson home at least eight times before her murder. Simpson avoided jail time for battery and was sentenced to community service.
Cast & Plot
The show’s cast is a unique group – Cuba Gooding Jr. plays Simpson, David Schwimmer and John Travolta are cast as Simpson’s defense attorneys, Robert Kardashian and Robert Shapiro, respectively.
Other cast members include Selma Blair as Kris Jenner and Sarah Paulson as the head prosecutor, Marcia Clark.
The pilot begins with a montage of riots following police brutality and racial tension in the early 90’s. The camera then follows a dog-walker late at night who discovers the two bodies at Nicole’s home. Once the police were on their way to arrest O.J., he drove away and led them on the over-publicized car chase.
Reception
American Crime Story has already gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews. It scored a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and scored an 8.8 out of 10 on both IMDb and Metacritic.
Personally, my favorite aspect of the show was its dark tone, especially during the first half of the pilot.
As strange as some of the cast choices were, I think it all worked well together and Gooding Jr. gave a convincing, expressive performance as the emotionally unstable and guilt-ridden Simpson.
I also loved the accuracy and how each scene was true to life. Every little detail in the pilot, the dog with the bloody paws, the position of the dead bodies and the drops of blood found on Simpson’s car and front porch are exactly as they were described by witnesses and reports in the actual investigation.
Overall, I think the pilot shows a lot of promise for the rest of the season and I truly look forward to the next episode.
This story was originally published on Feb. 21, 2016. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 28, 2020.
