The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story was one of the most well-received shows of 2016. Critics and viewers alike were impressed with the program’s ability to somehow make one of the world’s most well-known court cases engaging to experience, yet again.
American Crime Story is an anthology, meaning each season features a new story and different characters. The second, third, and fourth seasons of the show are already in development, with one new season based on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and another depicting the 1997 murder of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace.
The other new season of American Crime Story currently in development will center around a political circus everyone is familiar with: the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.
The Lewinsky scandal was such a dramatic news story that it’s hard to imagine a TV show topping the entertainment value of the event itself – but that’s what people said about the O.J. Simpson trail when American Crime Story was first announced, and that turned out to be a pretty dang good ten hours of television.
Another similarity between the OJ and Lewinsky seasons of American Crime Story is that they’re both based on books written by legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson took its plot from Toobin’s book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson, and the Lewinsky season will be based on Toobin’s A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.
Don’t expect a lot of focus on Bill and Hillary Clinton – while they are certainly important figures in this story, Toobin’s book was more about Paula Jones and Ken Star. It is a legal drama, after all.
Also, don’t expect the Lewinsky season to actually be on television too soon. The Katrina and Versace seasons are both scheduled to premiere in 2018, and the Lewinsky season will air after that.
Featured image by Helene C. Stikkel – Originally from US DOD, Public Domain.
