O.J. Simpson to Receive a 5 Part “30 for 30” Series With ESPN

The trial of the century has been issued a new lease on life thanks in large part to FX’s riveting courtroom drama, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. The 10-episode series just wrapped up this Tuesday, and yet, the media world already has a new major offering to satiate our needs with a colossal five-part 30 for 30 documentary, O.J. Simpson: Made in America.

Directed by Ezra Edelman, Made in America comes after a previous 30 for 30 episode titled “June 17, 1994,” which detailed Simpson’s dramatic white Bronco car chase after he was charged for the murder of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, aired in 2010. The chase, and the subsequent courtroom spectacle, however, are only a couple of pieces to a much larger story.

“This is not a film simply focused on the murders or the trial. It is a much bigger story,” Edelman told Entertainment Weekly. “One that explores O.J.’s life and how race and his pursuit of celebrity shaped it…while at the same time documenting the racial dynamics of L.A. and the relationship between its police force and black citizens – a relationship thrust front and center into the discussion of the murders, and one that proved a vital determinant in the outcome of the trial.” O.J. Simpson: Made in America clocks in at seven hours and 30 minutes and, as EW points out, the murders of Nicole and Ronald don’t come into play until the third hour.

The plan is for ABC to air the opening episode June 11 at 9 p.m. ET. ESPN will then go on to air and re-air the five-part documentary beginning June 14. Edelman plans on screening the film in its entirety at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival on April 23 with a one-day marathon, followed by a Q&A with Edelman himself.

The trailer crams a lot of themes into its two-minute runtime, exploring O.J.’s rise to celebrity and the perspective that the American people had of him. And if you thought that was the only Simpson-related project coming, you’d be mistaken. Investigation Discovery and Martin Sheen have teamed up to produce a true crime docuseries, Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent, which already has a lot of people lashing out.

Got the drop on The Stashed . . .

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