Despite the fact that the real-life drama that began in 1994 with the savage murders of O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, continued through one of the most outrageous and over-extended trials in history and ended in late 1995 with a verdict that galvanized the nation played out over 20 years ago, there remains to this day an urgency and an unfortunate timeless quality to this story. Perhaps that explains some of the palpable enthusiasm surrounding this production, not simply among the critics and reporters who have seen the first few episodes but the executives and publicity team at FX itself.
One might assume, given the collective quality of the material they have worked with through the years, that the first season of the new “American Crime Story” franchise would be just another top-shelf project for them. But that isn’t the case. I’m sure they love all of their children equally, but it seemed to me that everyone at FX, from CEO John Landgraf (pictured below) on down, is more stoked about this project than any other in the network’s impressive history.
During his session with the press, which opened FX’s day at TCA, Landgraf referred to “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” as “one of the most high-profile projects we’ve undertaken,” adding that it is “a tremendously entertaining program that addresses many critical and societal issues that are at the forefront of the current national dialogue such as race, domestic violence, gender discrimination, the 24/7 news cycle, celebrity, class and our sometimes broken criminal justice system. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the quality of the show.”
Adding to the energy surrounding “Simpson” is the casting of John Travolta (pictured at top) as celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro, who was part of Simpson's defense team. At the panel for this series it was noted that Travolta hasn’t done regular television work since his portrayal of Vinnie Barbarino on the sitcom classic “Welcome Back Kotter” 40 years ago. I’m told there have been television press tours of various kinds almost since the medium came into existence, but the Television Critics Association as it has been known since its formation in the late Seventies did not exist when “Kotter” debuted. In other words, the “Simpson” panel marked Travolta’s TCA debut. He must have enjoyed it, because he stuck around to chat with reporters at the cocktail party that closed FX’s day and seemed quite happy to be doing so.