American Crime Story

I enjoyed the first series revolving around the OJ Simpson murder trial, the second series is all about the assassination of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

The emphasis throughout the series on the serial killer Andrew Cunanan rather than Versace himself, although we do get to see a good amount of backstory on Versace also.

We get a real raw insight into Cunanan's psychotic mind, background and his shocking killing spree. It is a very gripping series and Darren Criss played the role of murderer Cunanan absolutely outstandingly and in my opinion deserves an award for his portrayal of this complex character.

My only criticism is the timeline jumps were confusing at times, when there's a week between episodes and each episode centering on a different year and back and forth rather than chronologically, I did get confused at times of what took place when. It did all come together though in the final episode.

My only complaint about Season 2 is that there is to much conjecture about Cunanan's relationship with his some of his victims. We see an entire episode about him traveling with David, conversations they have, David's reluctance to escape...no one but Andrew and David knows what really happened in the apartment or the days following, or what conversations took place. Maybe Cunanan had a gun on him the entire time. Same with Miglin and the discussions about his Space Needle, or Miglin willingly allowing Cunanan to tape him up. Things may have in fact been very different.

This series is riveting, well directed, fast-paced and informative. The casting is marvelous with one little exception: OJ Simpson!! Cuba Gooding is a fantastic actor, but he completely fails to portray OJ Simpsons incredible charm and charisma that actually enabled him to sliver through years of abusive behavior and the cold-blooded double murder. Gooding is reactive and unsophisticated, while the cocksure Simpson is just missing. This is an incredible failure of casting where the remaining characters are spot on and compelling. Why not Dwayne Johnson or someone with the physical charisma and cool? Travolta deserves great kudos for taking this on, but one has to wonder why he allowed the utter miscasting of the major role. At any rate, this is a worthwhile series to watch and it surely is award-rich.

Telling the story of the murder of Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramírez) at the hands of Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), what's especially interesting about this season of American Crime Story is the narrative structure. The opening scene of the first episode sees the murder, and the show then goes backwards, with each episode set earlier than the previous one, an achronological structure that unifies form and content; this isn't about a murder, it's about how Cunanan became a serial killer.

Within this, the show deals with two interrelated issues; 1) the concept that one must work hard to be successful, and 2) the desire to be remembered. Cunanan is obsessed with the second, but unwilling to acknowledge the first, despite his conviction of his own greatness. His attitude is nicely critiqued by Versace himself ("Life isn't about convincing people you can do great things. It's about doing them"), and the last shot masterfully encapsulates much of Cunanan's deepest existential fears. For all that, however, the season is good, but not great. The last two episodes are far and away the strongest, especially Jon Jon Briones's appearance as Modesto, Cunanan's detestable father, but, overall, it isn't a patch on 'The People v. O.J. Simpson'.

The People vs O.J Simpson & The Assassination of Gianni Versace are both outstanding mini-series. Both, are completely two true events so it's hard to compare, if not at all.

From watching both of the series you can tell how much thought, research and care that the exec producers, director and cast(s) put into both of the mini-series in order to portray the events and every person correctly. The two series are outstanding and so well thought out and it's incredible to watch, they both feel so natural and realistic when you're watching them!

I started watching American Crime Story by watching The Assassination of Gianni Versace and I was absolutely hooked from the first episode. Then, I started watching The People vs O.J Simpson and the same thing happened. Both of the casts from American Crime Story are outstanding and their portrayals are fantastic, I can see why American Crime Story has been nominated and has won many awards for the two mini-series.

What I love the most about American Crime Story is that they don't just focus on the one side (e.g., People vs O.J Simpson and focusing that he's guilty (again, just an example!)) but they focus on both sides equally and allows you to see it on both sides for a further understanding of the two events which in my opinion a lot of people who have tried to make a series like American Crime Story have really flopped on.

American Crime Story is the only murder/crime/thriller genre-based series that has me absolutely hooked and itching for the next episode/season!

Ryan Murphy, you are an absolute genius! Roll on Season 3!