The important thing to remember about The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story is that it sounded, and initially even looked, kind of terrible. The discrepancy between those initial impressions and the final product is a helpful guide when approaching any new show (or film, or book, etc.) but particularly smart to keep in mind as you hit play on the first trailer for the second American Crime Story, which sails into another ‘90s tabloid sensation: the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan, as the penultimate act of a killing spree that concluded eight days later with his own suicide.
Ryan Murphy’s dramatization of that spree, which opens with Versace’s murder and works its way backwards, features Edgar Ramirez as Versace and Darren Criss (of Murphy’s breakthrough series Glee) as Cunanan, with Penélope Cruz (doing her best not to remind you of Maya Rudolph) as Verace’s sister Donatella. And here’s your first trailer:
So, y’know, maybe it’s fine? But keep this key fact in mind: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszweski, the Ed Wood and People vs. Larry Flynt screenwriters who developed the show’s first season and wrote or co-wrote half of its episodes, are not involved in this season.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premieres January 17 on FX.