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The first season of American Crime Story, titled The People v. O. J. Simpson, revolves around the O. J. Simpson murder case, as well as the combination of prosecution confidence, defense witnesses, and the Los Angeles Police Department's history with African-American people. It is based on Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson (1997). The ensemble cast includes Sterling K. Brown, Kenneth Choi, Christian Clemenson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bruce Greenwood, Nathan Lane, Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, John Travolta, and Courtney B. Vance. O.J. Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson, Bill Clinton, Barbara Walters, and Penny Daniels appear via archive footage. Cable channel FX announced American Crime Story in October 2014 and filming began in May 2015. Broadcast between February 2 and April 5, 2016, the first season was developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The two served as executive producer alongside Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson. The People v. O. J. Simpson received critical acclaim for its directing, writing, and casting (particularly Paulson, Vance and Brown), though reactions to Travolta and Gooding's respective portrayals were more polarized. Among its awards, the season won nine Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three TCA Awards, and four Critics' Choice Television Awards. Paulson won six awards for her portrayal of Marcia Clark. Cast Main Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito Christian Clemenson as William Hodgman Cuba Gooding Jr. as O. J. Simpson Bruce Greenwood as Gil Garcetti Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian John Travolta as Robert Shapiro Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran Recurring Guest Archive footage/audio Episodes Production Development On October 7, 2014, it was announced that FX had ordered a 10-episode season of American Crime Story, developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and executive produced by Alexander and Karaszewski, as well as Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Murphy also directed the pilot episode. Other executive producers are Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Co-executive producers are Anthony Hemingway and D. V. DeVincentis. All 10 episodes were expected to be written by Alexander and Karaszewski. The series was previously in development at Fox but since moved to the company's sibling cable network FX. Murphy and others wanted to create an unbiased account of the trial by doing "certain takes guilty, certain takes innocent" according to Cuba Gooding Jr so that they would have a "plethora of emotions to play with". Casting Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson were the first to be cast as Simpson and Marcia Clark, respectively. Subsequently, David Schwimmer was cast as Robert Kardashian. In January 2015, it was reported that John Travolta had joined the cast as Robert Shapiro; he would also serve as producer. In February 2015, Courtney B. Vance joined the series as Johnnie Cochran. In March 2015, it was announced that Connie Britton would co-star as Faye Resnick. April 2015 saw the casting of Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden, Jordana Brewster as Denise Brown, and Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito. In May 2015, it was confirmed Selma Blair would be portraying Kris Kardashian Jenner. In July 2015, it was announced Nathan Lane had joined the cast as F. Lee Bailey. Filming Principal photography began on May 14, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Promotion In October 2015, FX released its first promotional trailer for The People v. O. J. Simpson, showing an Akita dog whining, walking from its residence onto a sidewalk to bark, then walking back to its residence, leaving behind bloody paw prints. Later that month another teaser was released, wherein the first actual footage of Travolta as Shapiro was shown. In the teaser, Shapiro is about to ask Simpson (whose face is unseen) if he is responsible for the murder of Simpson's ex-wife. In the next short teaser that was released, Simpson (again unseen) is taking a lie detector test. In November, two new teasers were released. The first shows Simpson writing his attempted suicide letter, while a voice-over by Gooding Jr. narrates. The second shows the police chasing Simpson's white Ford Bronco, while dozens of fans cheer for him. The first full trailer was released in December, along with a poster for the season. The trailer included Simpson sitting in the childhood bedroom of Kim Kardashian and contemplating suicide while Robert Kardashian tries to stop him. Reception Reviews The People v. O.J. Simpson received acclaim from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the season an approval rating of 97%, based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 8.74/10. The site's critical consensus read, "The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story brings top-shelf writing, directing, and acting to bear on a still-topical story while shedding further light on the facts—and provoking passionate responses along the way." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 90 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Many critics singled out many cast members for the performances, particularly Paulson and Vance. Dan Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of Paulson and Vance, writing: "As Clark's discomfort grows, Paulson's collection of tics seem more and more human, [...] Vance's Cochran is sometimes hilarious, but he has a dynamic range such that he's occasionally introspective and always intelligent as well." Brian Lowry of Variety praised the casting of the smaller roles, particularly Connie Britton as Faye Resnick and Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey. Travolta and Gooding's respective portrayals of Shapiro and Simpson were met with mixed reviews by critics. Brian Lowry of Variety called Travolta "awful" in the role, adding: "Yes, Shapiro spoke in stiff, measured tones, but the actor's overly mannered line readings turn the attorney into a buffoon, in sharp contrast to the more nuanced portrayals around him." Nicole Jones of Vanity Fair called his performance "campy and calculated". Dan Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter also criticized his performance, calling it "a mesmerizingly bad performance from the eyebrows down." He also wrote that "His unnecessary accent varies by episode, and Travolta's laser intensity feels arch and almost kabuki at times, turning Shapiro into a terrifying character from the next American Horror Story installment, rather than a part of this ensemble." Maureen Ryan of Vanity Fair, conversely, became more impressed with Travolta as the season progressed: "I started in the realm of puzzled disbelief, arrived at amusement, and ultimately traveled to a place of sincere appreciation. You simply can't take your eyes off Travolta, and that is a form of enchantment." Elisabeth Garber-Paul of Rolling Stone also called it "arguably [Travolta's] best performance si.... Discover the Selma Brown Morrow popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Selma Brown Morrow books.