Ryan Murphy's upcoming true-crime anthology American Crime Story is attracting some Oscar-caliber talent. Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. will headline the series' first season, FX announced Tuesday.
Gooding will play accused murderer and former pro football player O.J. Simpson in the inaugural installment of American Crime Story, which is subtitled "The People v. O.J. Simpson" and will tell the story of what many have dubbed "the trial of the century." According to the network, the project will explore "the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution confidence, defense wiliness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt."
Also joining the series is Sarah Paulson, a frequent collaborator of Murphy's. The actress, who has appeared on every season of Murphy's other FX anthology series, American Horror Story, will play prosecuting attorney Marcia Clark.
Neither Gooding nor Paulson is a stranger to portraying a real-life figure. Gooding can currently be seen in the acclaimed film Selma, as famed civil rights attorney and activist Fred Gray. Paulson earned an Emmy nomination in 2012 for her performance as Nicolle Wallace, a senior advisor on the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign, in the HBO film Game Change.
American Crime Story will tackle a different true-crime story each season. Season 1 is based on the Jeffrey Toobin book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.
Murphy has apparently been putting in some overtime in the casting office this week. On Monday, news broke that Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts will star in Scream Queens, the horror-comedy anthology that he's working on at Fox. And yes, for those keeping score at home, that makes one anthology series currently on the air and two in the hopper for the prolific TV producer.