FX surprised many today by announcing that the next season of “American Crime Story” would be titled “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” In case you didn’t quite figure it out yet, via that title alone, the third season of the serial-driven series will focus on the women swept up in President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment proceedings (Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp).
Production on ‘Impeachment’ will begin in February 2020, with a peculiar, almost-too-close-to-election-day, premiere date of September 27th, 2020. FX Chief John Landgraf was asked about the September 2020 timing of the release and the negative tweets about it being so close to the November election —yes, there are people out there concerned about the impact this would have on an election and asking FX to reconsider its release timing …
Landgraf’s rebuttal was quick and swift: “The idea that we can’t have art, we can’t have nuance, is toxic in the media environment,” he said. “I believe very, very strongly in the art we’re making. I don’t think ‘Crime Story’ is going to decide the next presidential election. I think that’s a little hysterical [to say that] from my standpoint. I’m insistent that I’m going to support artists and make great art and put it in the time and place where people are going to watch it.” Adding, “there’s a lot of nuance in the story that people don’t know about yet.
To say I’m excited about this would be an understatement. It’s about time someone adapted this story for the screen. Whether you’re on the right or left side of the political aisle, this is a story that has so many layers that I don’t even think a whole season could actually do it justice. Regardless, it is surprising that the Clinton/Lewinsky fiasco has never been tackled by Hollywood until now. Reactions will most likely be polarizing, people won’t be able to check their politics at the door, but it is important for this story to exist, there have been too many fake news stories about it over the years — adapting Jeffrey Toobin’s excellent and detailed book may finally settle a few myths that have developed over the years.
“Impeachment: American Crime Story” will star “The People v. O.J. Simpson” star Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, along with Beanie Feldstein (“Booksmart”) as Monica Lewinsky, and Annaleigh Ashford (“Late Night”) as Paula Jones. The actor to take on the role of Bill Clinton has yet to be announced.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.