In just three years, American Crime Story has cemented its reputation as a juicy cult hit. Expertly playing on our culture’s obsession with celebrity and true crime, in addition to an absolutely stellar cast, the first two anthology seasons — which focused on the story of the OJ Simpson trial and the assassination of Gianni Versace — had us well and truly hooked. And the new season looks set to be no exception.
The recently announced Impeachment: American Crime Story will tackle the saga of Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his subsequent impeachment. Even better, it stars Booksmart’s Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky! Alongside Beanie, creator Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s frequent collaborator Sarah Paulson will be playing Linda Tripp, while Annaleigh Ashford will play Paula Jones.
The news comes after an 18-month hiatus when the future of American Crime Story seemed uncertain. For a while, the rumoured third run of the series was due to be about Hurricane Katrina, before switching to a focus on Lewinsky. But still details were scant — until today! Not only do we have a show title and a partial cast list, but Impeachment: American Crime Story also has a premiere date. It’s due to air September 27, 2020 on FX, presumably with a UK release to follow (the previous two series aired on BBC Two and then Netflix).
While the Lewinsky story played out in the 90s as tabloid fodder, it will be interesting to see how American Crime Story tackles the scandal in 2019’s post-#MeToo world. Given that Monica Lewinsky herself is an executive producer on the upcoming season though, we can expect more detail and nuance than any of us ever heard from The National Enquirer. Alongside Lewinsky, the new series will be written by Sarah Burgess with Murphy and Falchuk as co-executive producers.
We have just one question: Who! Is! Playing! Bill! And! Hillary!