By Courtney Pappas ‘17
In 1994, America watched one of the most famous cases on television, the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Now, more than 20 years later, America gets to rewatch the trials on the television miniseries, “American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson.” Viewers were hooked right from the start of its Feb. 2 premiere. Now nine episodes in, the case is being relived by many and watched for the first time by our generation.
Ryan Murphy, previously producer behind the show “American Horror Story” (AHS), was added onto this 10-episode miniseries. Like his previous work, “American Crime Story,” is based upon investigations and criminal activity, though a lot less scarier than “AHS.” Along with Murphy, “AHS” actress Sarah Paulson plays lead prosecutor Marcia Clark. The investigation traits that were in “AHS”, have now extended over into “The People vs O.J. Simpson.” Both shows zero in on the fascinating truth behind police force and how they are working.
From the first episode, the LAPD is made out to be monsters. They are ridiculed on how they handled the evidence against O.J. and are basically blamed for losing the case. The beauty of the show is that people can see the background information, like the LAPD, and understand details that were not shared originally. The cops from the beginning wanted O.J. wanted to be a suspect. Right when they were brought to the crime scene, the focus stirred away from allowing O.J. to mourn but made him a suspect. Viewers can now put the pieces together between the investigation and the actual case.
Overall, the show has hooks that appeal to all age groups. For older generations, they are able to rewatch the case that they once lived through. For younger generations though, each episode is new and exciting. Even though most people know the basics of the case and the outcome, it is exciting to watch and see how everything actually occurred. The reality of this show is what makes it so interesting. While not all reality tv shows are good, this one isn’t filled with fake drama. People see something that they never knew about before and can instantly research it and get the whole story. The appeal comes from the case finally be unravelled so that people can understand how O.J. was never convicted.
Shows that are based on real life events are beneficial to people to get a second look and behind the scene details on everything. Like “The People vs O.J. Simpson”, another show “Confirmation”, is coming out in late April which is based upon the case of Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas. This is another memorable case seen on TV about the Supreme Court Justice being accused of sexual harassment his miniseries based on modern events are something that people want to see. Not only are some people reliving it, some people are first experiencing these shocking events and everyone is learning the details that were never uncovered before. “The People vs O.J. Simpson” is finally giving American’s some answers and enlightening everyone about its history.
