# The People v OJ Simpson on FX **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230 "2016-02-05T14:49:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/21 "2016-02-09T16:39:37Z")
Apparently it’s called American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson. > **[American Crime Story (TV Series 2016– ) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788432/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1)** > > American Crime Story: Created by Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Sarah Burgess, Tom Rob Smith. With Sarah Paulson, Annaleigh Ashford, Sterling K. Brown, Kenneth Choi. An anthology series centered around America's most notorious crimes and... Pretty highly reviewed so far. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/22 "2016-02-09T16:54:45Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Travolta seems to be playing Robert Shapiro as a slightly swishy mortician. He’s certainly made up to look like the end result of his work. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/23 "2016-02-09T22:04:56Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I think perhaps you’re confusing OJ with American Crime – which is the same producers as American Horror Story, and (like AHS) features the same cast in different roles each season. American Crime is a different anthology crime series that Ryan Murphy (the AHS guy) isn’t involved in, and a cursory glance seems to show that the crimes are fictional. Not to be confused with American Crime Story, which is produced by Ryan Murphy, and is planned to be an anthology series of high profile true crimes. Next year might be “I swear on my children’s eyes” Robert Blake, for example. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/24 "2016-02-09T22:44:27Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > American Crime is a different anthology crime series that Ryan Murphy (the AHS guy) isn’t involved in, and a cursory glance seems to show that the crimes are fictional. > > \*\*\*Not to be confused with \*\*\*American Crime Story, which is produced by Ryan Murphy, and is planned to be an anthology series of high profile true crimes. Next year might be “I swear on my children’s eyes” Robert Blake, for example. too late! ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/25 "2016-02-10T04:25:44Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > American Crime is a different anthology crime series that Ryan Murphy (the AHS guy) isn’t involved in, and a cursory glance seems to show that the crimes are fictional. > > Not to be confused with American Crime Story, which is produced by Ryan Murphy, and is planned to be an anthology series of high profile true crimes. Next year might be “I swear on my children’s eyes” Robert Blake, for example. Next season’s story will focus on Hurricane Katrina. [Hollywood Reporter](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fxs-american-crime-story-season-851993) > [@](#): > > **From Wikipedia** : > The second season is in development, and will focus on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Murphy explained the working plan is “to follow a group of six to eight people in an attempt to examine all sides of the tragedy, from the Superdome in New Orleans to the hospital to those who were put on buses and dropped off with babies who had to wear trash bags for multiple days.” Production for the second season is expected to begin in fall 2016. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/26 "2016-02-10T09:00:48Z")
Sabotage was an excellent musical bed for the start of the highway sequences. This whole episode was fantastic, I thought. Best was OJ repeatedly apologizing to all the cops. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/27 "2016-02-10T15:55:15Z")
The cuts to the Kardashian kids were completely pointless and annoying. Much like the kids themselves, I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/28 "2016-02-10T17:58:52Z")
Yes! I was hoping someone would make a topic about this! I’ve been excited about this series ever since I heard of it. Its completely mesmerizing! I was in high school when this happened, didn’t watch the news, didn’t care about it, didn’t watch much sports, no reality TV at the time, and this brought all of that together in one big package. I didn’t watch every minute of the trial, but I live in LA and our local channel had a 30 min OJ trial update every day that must have pissed off the local news anchors used to getting an hour. 😛 I loved the first episode. I thought Schwimmer was cast perfectly as Kardashian because I remember him being the kind of soft-spoken, introverted personality that the show portrays him as. I initially had issues with Travolta and Gooding’s casting, but I don’t remember much about Shapiro’s personality (he was completely subsumed by Johnnie Cochran) so I’ve accepted it. I also read that Gooding wasn’t going to do a physical imitation of OJ, so I don’t mind the contrast between OJ and him too much anymore. Its acting, eh whatever, and its an interpretation based on a book. I didn’t see too much of OJ before the trial, I wasn’t a football fan and don’t remember too much of the movies and commercials so I don’t know enough of his personality to compare. That and he said so little during the trial and was never cross-examined so I have little to base OJ’s personality on > [@What\_the](#): > > Anybody know if all of the above actually happened? > > I particularly like how the entire story as presented so far seems plausible… no one is being set up as a total liar. Looking forward to tonight’s episode. [OJ did fail a lie detector test](http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/people-v-oj-simpson-episode-1-recap), and I’m pretty sure the police talked to him without a lawyer before he was officially taken. The prosecution was annoyed at how his interrogation went and how short it was. Nobody knows for sure about what Shapiro and OJ said in private though. Here’s a couple of episode 2 [recaps](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/02/09/is_the_people_v_o_j_simpson_accurate_a_fact_check_of_episode_2.html) and [fact checks](http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/people-v-oj-simpson-episode-2-recap). I’m finding them almost as engrossing as the series as it brings back a lot of real life memories of that time ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/29 "2016-02-11T00:37:34Z")
Thanks for the links YogSothoth. > [@Casey1505](#): > > The cuts to the Kardashian kids were completely pointless and annoying. > > Much like the kids themselves, I suppose… Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/30 "2016-02-12T17:51:33Z")
> [@DtypeJag](#): > > The only “entertainment” that comes close to the Simpson thing was the Lindburgh kidnapping or more recently in a somewhat lesser way the Anna Nicole Smith saga. PBS just had an American Experience show about Leopold and Loeb, which predates the Lindbergh kidnapping by 12 years. It was an interesting examination of the media circus in 1924: Clarence Darrow’s last trial with a three-day rambling closing argument, allegations of homosexuality, testimony of “alienists” (as psychiatrists were known then), nonstop media coverage, the question of capital punishment of 19-year olds, spoiled rich kids thinking they could get away with murder, etc. The Leopold & Loeb episode made me think of many crime stories currently in the news (affluenza defense anyone?). It was supposedly the inspiration for Hitchcock’s _Rope_. The episode is available online; if you liked watching the OJ trial this might interest you as well. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/31 "2016-02-12T18:26:30Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > PBS just had an American Experience show about Leopold and Loeb, which predates the Lindbergh kidnapping by 12 years. It was an interesting examination of the media circus in 1924: Clarence Darrow’s last trial with a three-day rambling closing argument, allegations of homosexuality, testimony of “alienists” (as psychiatrists were known then), nonstop media coverage, the question of capital punishment of 19-year olds, spoiled rich kids thinking they could get away with murder, etc. The Leopold & Loeb episode made me think of many crime stories currently in the news (affluenza defense anyone?). It was supposedly the inspiration for Hitchcock’s _Rope_. The episode is available online; if you liked watching the OJ trial this might interest you as well. It was also the basis of the 1959 film _Compulsion_, which \*is \*the Leopold & Loeb case but for some reason changed the names of the principals (Leopold & Loeb become Steiner & Straus). Orson Welles plays Clarence Darrow (also under an alias). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/32 "2016-02-17T04:03:54Z")
So is every episode going to have a vignette with the Kardashian children? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/33 "2016-02-17T06:50:57Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > PBS just had an American Experience show about Leopold and Loeb, which predates the Lindbergh kidnapping by 12 years. It was an interesting examination of the media circus in 1924: Clarence Darrow’s last trial with a three-day rambling closing argument, allegations of homosexuality, testimony of “alienists” (as psychiatrists were known then), nonstop media coverage, the question of capital punishment of 19-year olds, spoiled rich kids thinking they could get away with murder, etc. The Leopold & Loeb episode made me think of many crime stories currently in the news (affluenza defense anyone?). It was supposedly the inspiration for Hitchcock’s _Rope_. The episode is available online; if you liked watching the OJ trial this might interest you as well. I’ve seen “Rope” and there is DEFINITELY a homosexual subplot running through it. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/34 "2016-02-17T21:44:32Z")
Dream Team assembling! Plus another hilarious Kardashian cameo. Is it just me, or does the girl playing the older Kardashian, Kourtney I think, look exactly like her? I could believe she was an actual Kardashian daughter! I almost forgot about Barry Scheck, that bowl haired, mousey looking guy with the DNA stuff. The way the defense decided how to attack the DNA by putting the LAPD on trial was brilliant, if not slimy. I remember the stat that the possibility it wasn’t OJ blood in the car or the glove was something like 1 in 8 billion, but then I also remember Dennis Fung fucking up the DNA and the handling of the evidence and Mark Fuhrman, so the defense did its job. There were a couple of great lines that I’m trying to remember. One was Kardashian telling OJ they’ll get him out of jail…_if you don’t deserve to be in here_. The other was between Darden and Clark. He was telling her how she wouldn’t understand some aspect of the case, then pause, because she doesn’t get emotional in her cases. Like, we all thought he was going to say because she’s not black, that was a cool swerve. Does anyone know if Cochran ever got a prank call like that? Who would have done it? He was famous in LA but not super world famous, and who would know enough about Cochran’s mind that they could prank him with a fake OJ call? But with so many other things about this case unbelievable but real, I could see something like this happening. It would totally fit the reality show nature of the whole spectacle ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/35 "2016-02-17T22:08:54Z")
Another gem. [QUOTE=Robert Cardovian] We’re Kardashians. In this family being a loyal friend is more important than being famous. Fame is fleeting, hollow. It means nothing without a virtuous heart. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/36 "2016-02-17T22:12:01Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] Travolta seems to be playing Robert Shapiro as a slightly swishy mortician. [/QUOTE] It is kind of weird when Nathan Lane is the butch one in a scene. 😉 I’m enjoying it more than I expected (except for Cuba) as well. So far Darden is about the only remotely likable character, but that was true at the time as well. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/37 "2016-02-18T07:57:37Z")
The old joke was always that Cuba Gooding Jr cries in every movie he’s in, no matter how small the part. I’m starting to think he might keep the streak alive by crying in every single episode. > [@YogSothoth](#): > > Does anyone know if Cochran ever got a prank call like that? Who would have done it? He was famous in LA but not super world famous, and who would know enough about Cochran’s mind that they could prank him with a fake OJ call? But with so many other things about this case unbelievable but real, I could see something like this happening. It would totally fit the reality show nature of the whole spectacle Wasn’t Cochran basically the LA version of Al Sharpton in terms of public perception? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/38 "2016-02-19T02:48:39Z")
One thing I forgot to point out: FX continues to push the envelope for basic cable standards. Outside of the occasional unedited midnight broadcast with tons of disclaimers, I believe this is the first basic cable show to say the word “fuck” out loud and unedited. Specifically, the very last scene when Marcia Clark says: “Jonnie Cochran…Motherfucker!” ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/39 "2016-02-19T04:39:19Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > One thing I forgot to point out: FX continues to push the envelope for basic cable standards. Outside of the occasional unedited midnight broadcast with tons of disclaimers, I believe this is the first basic cable show to say the word “fuck” out loud and unedited. Specifically, the very last scene when Marcia Clark says: “Jonnie Cochran…Motherfucker!” I’m pretty sure that Louie (also on FX) used the word a season or two ago in one episode and they left it in. It’s unusual enough right now to be noticeable, but in a few years I’ll be surprised if it’s not commonplace on FX and possibly AMC shows. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230/40 "2016-02-19T22:19:16Z")
IIRC, the FCC allowed AMC to air the word once a season for Breaking Bad. Perhaps that’s the rule now, past a certain hour? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-people-v-oj-simpson-on-fx/745230.md?page=3)