'American Crime Story' Cast Rumors, News: John Travolta Joins Series
John Travolta is about to make his return to television.
Travolta, whose first regular television role was on the 1975-1979 series, "Welcome Back Kotter," has landed a lead role in the "American Horror Story" spinoff, "American Crime Story." The actor will be playing the role of O.J. Simpson's defense attorney Robert Shapiro.
According to a statement from FX, "American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson" will detail "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 the jury what it needed: reasonable doubt."
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The miniseries is based on the book "The Run of His Life: The People vs O.J. Simpson" by Jeffrey Tobbins and according to the press release, the series will chronicle Simpson's infamous 1995 murder trial following the death of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. The production marks the first installment of Ryan Murphy's new anthology series that dramatizes true crime stories.
Joining Travolta in the cast are Oscar Winner Cuba Gooding Jr., who will be playing O.J. Simpson; "American Horror Story" regular Sarah Paulson, who will be playing prosecutor Marcia Clark, and "Friends" alum David Schwimmer, who will be playing Robert Kardashian. Travolta will also serve as producer in the series.
Production on the series from Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Dante Di Loreto is set to start early this year. Murphy will direct the pilot episode, and all 10 episodes in the series will be written by Alexander and Karaszewski.
"American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson" will premiere in 2015 on FX.
