Lewinsky will serve as a producer on 'Impeachment,' which will focus on the Bill Clinton sex scandal. Sarah Paulson also stars.
American Crime Story is officially taking on the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton sex scandal of the late '90s.
Two years after FX put the season into development, the network is finally moving forward with the third installment of the anthology series. Impeachment: American Crime Story will star Beanie Feldstein as a young Monica Lewinsky, it was announced Tuesday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.
Sarah Paulson will play Linda Tripp, while Annaleigh Ashford has been cast as Paula Jones.
Most notably, Lewinsky will serve as a producer and will be consulting on the series, which will be told through the perspectives of the women involved. The Clintons have not been approached to participate, with FX not planning on reaching out.
Written by Sarah Burgess, Impeachment: American Crime Story unravels the national scandal that swept up Jones, Lewinsky and Tripp as principal characters in the country’s first impeachment proceedings in over a century. The season will be based on legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.
Burgess will also serve as executive producer alongside Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander. Alexis Martin Woodall and Paulson. Henrietta Conrad and Jemima Khan will also serve as producers with Lewinsky.
Production on the upcoming season begins in February. FX has already set a premiere date for next fall: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
“FX’s American Crime Story franchise has become a cultural touchstone, providing greater context for stories that deserve greater understanding like the O.J. Simpson trial and saga, and Andrew Cunanan’s tragic crime spree which concluded with the assassination of Gianni Versace,” said John Landgraf, chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions. “This franchise re-examines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced and entertaining."
"Impeachment: American Crime Story will likewise explore the overlooked dimensions of the women who found themselves caught up in the scandal and political war that cast a long shadow over the Clinton Presidency," Landgraf added. "We are grateful to Sarah Burgess for her brilliant adaptation, as well as Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sarah Paulson and the rest of the creative team and cast.”
Previous installments of American Crime Story have focused on the O.J. Simpson case (2016's The People v. O.J. Simpson) and the murder of Gianni Versace (2018's The Assassination of Gianni Versace). A season focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been shelved indefinitely. The franchise has won 12 Emmys since its debut, including acting honors for Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, Courtney B. Vance and Darren Criss.
Earlier this year, Landgraf hinted that there were multiple seasons of American Crime Story "in active development."
"We have three or four ideas in active development, where we’ve acquired rights, done a fair amount of research, have writers working on them… the likelihood is they’ll all be produced," Landgraf said in February. "There are more cycles of American Crime Story to come, and more American Horror Story too."
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