American Crime Story‘s third season is officially happening! FX announced the future of the Ryan Murphy-produced anthology series, revealing its return in 2020 with a season devoted to the Bill Clinton presidency and his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky will produce the series, which will star Sarah Paulson, Beanie Feldstein and Annaleigh Ashford. Sarah Burgess has been attached to write the script.
FX announced the highly anticipated third season of the series, nearly a year-and-a-half since it aired Season 2, titled The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
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Impeachment: American Crime Story will see frequent Murphy collaborator Paulson play Linda Tripp. Lady Bird’s Feldstein will take on the role of Lewinsky and Ashford — who starred in Season 2 of the show — as Paula Jones. The show is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s bestseller A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brough Down a President.
Murphy optioned the book back in January 2017 but later changed his mind about dedicating a season to the scandal, The Hollywood Reporter first wrote.
“I told her (Lewinsky), ‘Nobody should tell your story but you, and it’s kind of gross if they do,’” Murphy told the outlet in April 2018. “‘If you want to produce it with me, I would love that; but you should be the producer and you should make all the goddamn money.’”
Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander, Alexis Martin Woodall and Paulson will executive produce the new season, along with Burgess. Henrietta Conrad and Jemima Kahn will also produce the Fox 21 and FX Productions, along with Lewinsky. Production is set to begin in February and is set to premiere Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020 at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
“FX’s American Crime Story franchise has become a cultural touchstone, providing greater context for stories that deserve greater understanding like the O.J. Simpson trial and saga, and Andrew Cunanan’s tragic crime spree which concluded with the assassination of Gianni Versace,” FX CEO John Landgraf said a statement released by THR Tuesday. “This franchise re-examines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced and entertaining. Impeachment: American Crime Story will likewise explore the overlooked dimensions of the women who found themselves caught up in the scandal and political war that cast a long shadow over the Clinton presidency.”
The news comes a few months since Langraff revealed Murphy had a few potential ideas for another season of the show, after the long gestating season surrounding Hurricane Katrina was dropped. Katrina was originally supposed to be the show’s second season, but it was flipped with Versace and later abandoned completely.
“We have three or four ideas in active development where we’ve acquired rights and done a fair amount of research and have writers working on them,” Landgraf said at the time. “I couldn’t tell you what will be ready first. The likelihood is all of them may be produced over time.”
