The name Ryan Murphy features a certain level of expectation no matter what show he produces. Whether it be Glee, American Crime Story, or Scream Queens; Murphy is often associated with schlock and bad calls. It is generally why his latest series American Crime Story was initially met with a certain belief that it would be a trainwreck. After all, it was going to tackle "the crime of the century" in which O.J. Simpson allegedly killed his wife Nicole Brown. With stunt casting that featured John Travolta and David Schwimmer, the show was looking at an uphill battle to be more than Murphy's typical brand of misguided melodrama. By some luck, his first foray into the nonfictional department has paid off and over the course of 10 episodes, the show's producer has officially made, for now anyways, his magnum opus. Despite all odds, American Crime Story is a show that tackles more than a familiar trial. It tackles race, media, sexual politics, the justice system, and the inherent loneliness of the jurors. It's only surprisingly good for a Murphy show, but it's also the best that 2016 has had to offer so far.
The series opens with an image not of Simpson (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.), but of another racially charged 90's moment: The Rodney King Riots. It is a moment that is addressed countless times throughout and in some ways is secretly the season's secret main character. For everything going on in the court room, the real fear is that the riots will extend to a trial that surpasses the predecessor's impact. The Simpson trial was one covered in fear of lawyers and jurors appearing as racist while dealing with the more broad subject of murder. It is a theme that comes into the second episode, which also turns the infamous Ford Bronco freeway chase into a riveting hour of TV. Beyond the scenes of Simpson growing neurotic in the car's backseat, it's the first real exposure to Simpson's impact as a public figure. Neighbors complain about their indifferent beliefs on the matter - which only grows worse as time goes on.
Most of all, the show quickly establishes its goals. It is within this second hour that we see the media start to swarm around Simpson. Much like his football career, everything to follow feels like a well-maneuvered play with the Guilty/Not Guilt parties planning out procedures in their boardrooms. It is here that we get into the nitty gritty of the series and the players begin to take center stage. Simpson is never out of an episode for long, but soon he becomes inconsequential to his own story. There are episodes dedicated to the lawyers, including a phenomenal performance by Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, who is far from ready to be in the middle of a media blitz. In the episode "Marcia Marcia Marcia," she gives a performance so riveting that it has lead many to reconsider the real life Clark's involvement in the case. She was a woman with a conflicting private life featuring custody battles, which only makes her ability to be confident for so long all the more powerful.
These ideas are generally what's at the heart of the series. If taken as a literal reenactment of the trial, one will be disappointed. It doesn't cover any new ground and the verdict isn't any different than it has been for 20+ years. What is more important to the writers of the show is the people whose lives were most impacted by the events. As much as the trial was an excuse to have a media circus and stuff even too ridiculous for Murphy to make up, it was about the exhaustion of people doing their jobs while keeping a cool head. It was a trial that lasted for over a year, and the series never wastes time in giving everyone equal perspective. Even the jury gets their own moment in the sun as "A Jury in Jail" reflects the insanity of the people who would come to vote on this man's innocence.
At the show's core, everyone has a moment of sympathy and the show eventually moves away from the campier and questionable tendencies, such as having Robert Kardashian's (Schwimmer) children randomly pop up as a briefly ongoing commentary on how the trial impacts today's celebrity obsessed culture. By the end, the show revealed that the trial was only a small component of a far more interesting story. The last half hour of the entire season isn't dedicated to drawing out the verdict for as long as possible, but asking the question "What's next for us?" As everyone is dismissed from court, there's a certain relief or disappointment that fills every character and the direction is superb in allowing the nuanced moments to play out. What started as a novelty show with ridiculous sideshows slowly became an intimate drama of a few dozen characters who inevitably suffered by the hand of justice. Even the winners have a morose notoriety to them by the end.
As a whole, the season manages to pack a lot of hefty themes around a familiar story. While race is the big one, the show manages to reflect the entire social climate of mid-90's America. It was the birth of the country's fascination with gossip culture while also embodying misleading presentations. Much like Simpson's football career, it is best seen as two sides having small victories while the coaches yelled at the players for doing something wrong. Still, what should've been a small murder trial ended up feeling important because it impacted us all. Maybe younger viewers don't know or care about Simpson, but the idea of a celebrity on trial has only grown worse in the time since, though rarely as attention grabbing. A case can be made that this show's importance has little to do with the O.J. Simpson who appears in the subtitle. It had more to do with how society saw itself.
However, the most impressive thing about the series is that it ends not with the bang of which it opened, but of a more somber moment that serves as a cliffhanger to real life. Free at last, Simpson stares at a football statue in his backyard, surrounded by no one and distant from the self-proclaimed "party of the century" that he's throwing. It's the perfect image to show how, despite being declared innocent, Simpson's life was forever changed and he wouldn't be able to have much of a career without the public accosting him. It's the burden of a man who once was an icon and is now the butt of jokes. As the images of the real life counterparts play over the credits, revealing what everyone has been up to since, there's the revelation that these were just people that wanted justice. To varying degrees, their lives are forever changed. While Simpson likely has it the worst, the surrounding figures have to deal with its legacy, which will likely outlive even them.
American Crime Story is a phenomenal show with a lot of amazing moments. Despite its presence as a Ryan Murphy show, it actually comes across as what TV and serialized programming does best. It allows for the story to unfold and go beyond the legal documents, forcing us to spend time with the people who were just doing their job while sacrificing their private lives. It is a show that suggests that maybe Murphy, a man who has always been questionable on the topics he discusses here so well, has value in recreating real life stories. Up next for the series is Hurricane Katrina, which celebrated its 10th anniversary just last year. If that season can pack enough of a punch like this story, then it may be about time to reconsider him as doing more than silly genre shows.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5
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