The second season ofAmerican Crime Storyis going through a bit of a switcheroo.Ryan Murphylaunched the anthology series last year on FX withThe People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Storyto universal critical acclaim and a boatload of Emmys, and FX quickly ordered not one but two new seasons.Katrinawas greenlit as Season 2, with Murphy also developingVersaceas Season 3. Production is already underway onVersacewith a star-studded cast, and whileAmerican Crime Storywould be taking a hiatus from 2017, the plan was to air both seasons in 2018 withKatrinagoing first, thenVersacesix months later. That’s no longer happening, as the two seasons are now swapping places.
PerTHR,Katrina: American Crime Storyhas been delayed with production not starting until early 2018, soVersace: American Crime Storywill now air first as Season 2 of the anthology series, withKatrinafollowing six months later.Katrinahad already begun casting, securingDennis Quaidas President George W. Bush alongsideAnnette Bening,Matthew Broderick, and returning players likeSarah Paulson,Cuba Gooding Jr., andCourtney B. Vance, but THR says this production delay is due to the team needing more time to create the extensive special water effects that will mimic Hurricane Katrina, while scheduling of the actors is also said to have been a factor.
Katrinaintends to chronicle the disaster and its fallout from a variety of points of view, shedding new light on a famous event just asThe People v. O.J. Simpsondid. Meanwhile,Versaceis already in the midst of filming in Miami, so there’s no issue with airing that season first in the early part of 2018.
Versacechronicles the 1997 assassination of designer Gianni Versaci (Edgar Ramirez) by a serial killer (Darren Criss) who committed suicide eight days later. The cast also includesPenelope Cruzas Donatella Versace as well asRicky Martin.
Murphy is currently readying his Fox straight-to-series drama911, which starsAngela Bassettand revolves around 911 operators. And as if producing two seasons ofAmerican Crime Storyat once wasn’t enough, he and producers arealready mulling a fourth season of the seriesthat will focus on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
