Life comes at you fast: Although the second season has yet to premiere, FX has already begun casting the third installment of its anthology series American Crime Story, created by Ryan Murphy. Today, the network announced that Penélope Cruz will star as Donatella Versace in Versace: American Crime Story, which will premiere in 2018.
Like the first season, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning The People v. O.J. Simpson — which was based on Jeffrey Toobin’s 1997 nonfiction book, The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson — Versace‘s source material is a 1999 book by Vanity Fair journalist Maureen Orth called Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History. The book tells the story of Andrew Cunanan, a serial killer who killed at least five people, including Donatella Versace’s brother, the designer Gianni Versace.
FX has yet to announce the casting of Gianni or other characters; production on the third season begins in April. Between this series and Feud, FX is quickly filling up its calendar with high-profile stories of true-life events that occurred relatively recently — in other words, series that revisit events most viewers will remember.
The second season of American Crime Story will focus on the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and will also premiere in 2018; according to FX president John Landgraf, Seasons 2 and 3 will air within six months of each other. Season 4 will delve into the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Feud, another Ryan Murphy joint that’s currently airing its first season, Bette and Joan , has also announced a topic for its second season — the relationship between Prince Charles and Lady Diana — which is already being cast. One day we’ll need an anthology series to take us through the whirlwind process of making all these anthology series.