On the evening of June 17, 1994, 95 million Americans were glued to their television sets watching what was to become the most famous police car chase in history. Usually, a Ford Bronco being chased by Los Angeles cops would not have generated that much attention, but this Bronco had someone inside that would go on to be talked about for decades to come: OJ Simpson. The former professional football star had been accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
MTV's "The Real World" is historically seen as the start of the modern reality show genre, but many credit the OJ Simpson car chase and the subsequent murder trial as the first real TV reality obsession that captured the nation. Viewers were glued to their televisions every day the trial was on and everyone had an opinion. Even more than 20 years later, OJ Simpson and the murder trial that he was involved in is still a hot topic of discussion within this celebrity-driven and scandal-driven media landscape. Currently, there are three television shows being released this year which discuss OJ Simpson one way or another (and one of them is a surprise).
American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson
This latest offering by "American Horror Story" and "Scream Queens" creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy is sure to be a television event when it premieres February 2 on FX. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr. in the titular role as well as Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clarke, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian and Connie Britton as Faye Resnick. The series is set to chronicle the possibly unknown events that occurred after the murder and during the trial as well as explore the racial tensions that permeated the public in the midst of the case.
O.J.: Made in America
Premiering at the recent Sundance Film Festival, this five-part documentary is a part of ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary series. It officially makes it television debut this June and it reportedly delves into Simpson's life from childhood all the way through his trial and acquittal. It also tackles African-American issues, civil rights, police brutality, the 1992 LA riots and, therefore, puts the social climate associated with the trial into perspective.
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Now this is the surprise on the list. However, with OJ's history with reality television (from the dramatic televised car chase to his friendship with the Kardashians), this is not as unexpected as one might think. Being a well-known couple in Los Angeles, the Simpsons were friends with many of Beverly Hills most famous celebrities. Faye Resnick, a recurring cast member on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and best friend of the Nicole Brown Simpson has caused her fair share of drama on the the Bravo reality series. This season brings on a new Housewife named Kathryn Edwards, the ex-wife of Marcus Allen. How does this Marcus Allen relate to OJ Simpson? Well, it is alleged in Resnick's tell-all book "Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted" that Brown Simpson had an affair with Allen while they were both married. Though the book was released more than 20 years ago, Edwards and Resnick had never met, therefore, Edward's inclusion into the group should cause some expected Bravo drama.
Each of these shows will shed some light on the never-been-told aspects surrounding the OJ Simpson drama; whether the information is pivotal or trivial. So, whether one is into gritty dramas, immersive true crime documentaries or your standard reality fare, there exists different avenues for the public to get its OJ fix this year.
