FX released four new teasers for “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” on Thursday, finally sharing the first glimpse at John Travolta in character as defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
“Anytime that I take on a new criminal case, I always ask the client a question,” he says to an unseen Cuba Gooding Jr., who plays Simpson in the series. “Now I won’t be judgmental, so…”
The ominous teaser ends before he gets out the question, but in another teaser released by the network, Simpson is hooked up to a polygraph and asked, “Is the person who killed Nicole Brown Simpson in this room?”
Based on Jeffrey Toobin’s “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” the miniseries is a look at the O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers. It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: Reasonable doubt.
The series stars Travolta as Robert Shapiro, Gooding as O.J. Simpson, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” alum Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian and “American Horror Story” star Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark.
Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Brad Falchuk, and Dante Di Loreto are executive producing the series. Alexander and Karaszewski are writing, as well, and Murphy is directing the first episode.
See Travolta in character in the teaser above and watch the three other teasers below.
“American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson” will premiere in February on FX.