At long last, the follow-up to The People v OJ Simpson and The Assassination of Gianni Versace will soon be gracing our screens in American Crime Story: Impeachment. Depicting the controversial affair between 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton and 22-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky, eventually leading to the former’s impeachment on charges of perjury and obstructing justice, the latest instalment of Ryan Murphy’s FX true crime anthology series will actually be produced by the latter herself.
Murphy has reportedly been keen to adapt the sex scandal for screens since 2017, but it didn’t exactly come together until roughly a year later, when the producer extraordinaire and veteran showrunner encountered Lewinksy at a dinner party.
“I told her, ‘Nobody should tell your story but you, and it’s kind of gross if they do,'” Ryan Murphy recounts to The Hollywood Reporter.
“‘If you want to produce it with me, I would love that… but you should be the producer and you should make all the goddamn money.'”
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“I was hesitant, and truthfully more than a little scared to sign on,” Monica Lewinsky wrote to Vanity Fair.
“But after a lengthy dinner meeting with Ryan, I came to understand even more clearly how dedicated he is to giving a voice to the marginalised in all of his brilliant work. I’m privileged to work with him and the other talented people on the team, and I’m privileged to have this opportunity.”
“People have been co-opting and telling my part in this story for decades. In fact, it wasn’t until the past few years that I’ve been able to fully reclaim my narrative – almost 20 years later.”
“Powerful people, often men, take advantage of those subordinate to them in myriad ways all the time. Many people will see this as such a story and for that reason, this narrative is one that is, regretfully, evergreen.”
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Based on the 1999 book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down A President written by Jefffrey Tobin – who also penned The Run of His Life: The People v OJ Simpson, which was adapted into the first season of American Crime Story – the coming episodes will feature an all-star cast of dramatic talent.
Clive Owen has been as President Bill Clinton, while The Sopranos alumni Edie Falco will portray First Lady and later a presidential candidate in her own right, Hillary Clinton. As for the role of Monica Lewinsky, Beanie Feldstein – sister of Jonah Hill – has been tapped to step up. And just because it wouldn’t be a Ryan Murphy series without her, you can also expect Sarah Paulson to return as Linda Tripp; a civil servant who had a prominent role in the 1998 scandal.
Other confirmed appearances include Anthony Green as former Vice President Al Gore, Billy Eichner as political commentator and Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge, Margo Martindale as literary agent Lucianne Goldberg, Annaleigh Ashford as civil servant Paula Jones (who would also sue Clinton for sexual harassment), and Taran Killam as Paula’s husband, Steve Jones. Betty Gilpin of GLOW fame had originally signed on to play conservative media pundit Ann Coulter, but was sadly forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts (“I listened to all those Ann Coulter audiobooks for nothing.”).
American Crime Story: Impeachment is scheduled to premiere on September 7th via FX (Australian release to be announced) – watch the teaser trailer above.
