It was the homicide trial that captured an entire nation, thrusting L.A.’s celebrity culture and a history of rocky police relations into the national spotlight. Now, twenty years later, Angelenos have a chance to relive it thanks to American Crime Story, a new television series about the infamous O.J. Simpson murder trial.
The long-anticipated drama premiered Tuesday on the FX Channel—the first in a 10-part series created by director-producer Ryan Murphy. And while everyone already knows how the story will ultimately end, the series promises plenty of surprise and intrigue along the way.
The first episode actually opens, not with the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, but with the Rodney King beating and the subsequent civil unrest that enveloped the city just two years earlier. This not only provides important context for what would become the trial of the century, but also harkens back to a darker day in L.A.’s history—a time marked by deep social stratification; widespread allegations of racism within the LAPD; and, finally, an explosion of rage and chaos that pitted neighbor against neighbor.
The tumultuous history between the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s African-American community would, of course, become a focal point of the trial. The case once again exposed a deep racial divide within the country as well. At the time, 82% of whites said they were convinced of Simpson’s guilt, while just 31% of nonwhites agreed.
But O.J. Simpson was always an unlikely hero for social justice within the black community, and the series doesn’t shy away from that. Viewers are constantly reminded of the special treatment often given to rich and powerful celebrities like O.J. in a star-struck city like L.A.
“The system failed her!” Los Angeles County prosecutor Marcia Clark exclaims, referring to the multiple incidents of domestic violence and calls to police from the Simpson residence prior to the murder.
Much has changed since Simpson’s acquittal in October of 1995. For instance, polls now show that 57% of black Americans think the former NFL star did indeed murder his ex-wife and her friend. The LAPD has also grown far more diverse since then, which it says has helped dramatically improve relations with the African-American community. Still, recent high-profile police shootings around the U.S. have reinvigorated a general mistrust of police in minority communities. And while there is heightened scrutiny now surrounding celebrity cases, there is still a sense that a separate system of justice often exists for the rich and famous.
In many ways then, viewers of American Crime Story are likely to encounter an L.A. that is virtually unrecognizable. In so many others, they find themselves in an all-too-familiar place, with the harsh portrayals of privilege, social conflict, and elusive justice hitting a little too close to home.