American Crime Story will shortly return to the small screen for its second batch of episodes. The first season of the anthology drama courtesy of Ryan Murphy was a huge hit as it followed the infamous murder trial of O.J. Simpson, and the second season will attempt to recreate that success with the story of the murder of Gianni Versace back in 1997. The Assassination of Gianni Versace will obviously cover a lot of real-life events and people. Now, the Versace family has weighed in on the new series:
The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace. Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.
Apparently, the family of Gianni Versace had no involvement in how The Assassination of Gianni Versace is going to unfold on FX, and so the series should be regarded as fiction by viewers. The family's statement (via THR) indicates that the show won't exactly be filled with nuggets of inside information courtesy of the people involved back when the tragedy unfolded in 1997. It seems that the family of Versace was hands-off for the entire process of the show coming together.
Interestingly, the statement was quite clear that the Versace family was not connected to either the show's adaptation of events or the book upon which parts of the season will be based. Written by author Maureen Orth, book is called Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History and covers the events before, during, and after the shocking murder of the legendary fashion designer. As the season has not yet aired, we can't say just how closely the show will adhere to the events as described in the book. All we can say for sure is that the Versace family did not sign off on any of it.
The tragedy itself combined with the talented cast of The Assassination of Gianni Versace almost certainly means that we're in for an intense ride with the show. Edgar Ramirez stars as Gianni Versace himself, with Penelope Cruz as his sister Donatella. Ricky Martin is on board as Antonio D'Amico, a.k.a. Versace's longtime partner. Darren Criss of Glee fame plays the killer Andrew Cunanan. We'll have to wait and see how the second season of American Crime Story compares to the first season. O.J. Simpson was reportedly not a fan of how his story was told on the show; the Versace family may be on the very same page.
You can catch the premiere of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story on Wednesday, January 17 at 10 p.m. ET on FX. The first season of American Crime Story is currently streaming on Netflix, and our 2018 Netflix guide can point you toward your other streaming options now and in the coming weeks. For more of what you'll be able to watch on the small screen, take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule.
