‘American Crime Story: Impeachment’ Delayed, Will Not Air Before 2020 Election After All

TCA 2020: The third season of Ryan Murphy-led anthology won’t complete filming until October, Landgraf said

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The third season of FX’s “American Crime Story” on the impeachment of Bill Clinton will not air in September as it was originally scheduled to do, FX chief John Landgraf said Thursday.

The reason for the delay is due to Murphy’s busy schedule (FX renewed his other anthology “American Horror Story” for three more seasons on Thursday). “I don’t think that’s reasonable, frankly given that it wont finish production until October,” Landgraf said during the Television Critics Association press tour. He was unsure about when it would premiere. “I don’t think we’ll make it by September.”

That means that, with the 2020 Presidential Election set for Nov. 3, “Impeachment” likely won’t air until after that. Last summer, Landgraf defended the decision to air “Impeachment,” which centers on the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky impeachment drama, just months ahead of the 2020 election, In addition, he called the current media environment “toxic.”

“Let me just say something about the current environment,” he said. “This certainty that says we can’t have conversations, we can’t make art, we can’t have nuance, that I won’t even wait to pronounce judgement, is toxic in the media environment. I believe very, very strongly in what we’re making. I’ve read it, I think it’s great.”

Landgraf said the scheduling decision was an attempt to capitalize on the time when interest from viewership would be at its peak. “People are going to be very interested in this right around the presidential election and it’s going to be a great show,” he said.

Clive Owen will play Bill Clinton, joining Sarah Paulson, Beanie Feldstein and Annaleigh Ashford. The third season of the anthology “unravels the national scandal that swept up Paula Jones (played by Ashford), Monica Lewinsky (Feldstein) and Linda Tripp (Paulson) as principal characters in the country’s first impeachment proceedings in over a century.”

Sarah Burgess writes and will executive produce alongside Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander, Alexis Martin Woodall and Sarah Paulson. Lewinsky herself will serve as producer on “Impeachment,” as will Feldstein, Henrietta Conrad and Jemima Khan.

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