Twenty-three years ago the world was fixated by the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Ryan Murphy is giving us all a chance to do so again with Impeachment: American Crime Story, the latest season in the anthology series. After a couple of teasers, the first full trailer for the show, which premieres Sept. 7 on FX, has been released.
In 1998, it was revealed that then-President Bill Clinton had an affair with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. The scandal made headline news throughout the year, ultimately resulting in Clinton being impeached by the House of Representatives (at the time only the second president to be impeached) before eventually being acquitted by the Senate. Of course for Lewinsky, the scandal had a whole different meaning.
The season is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.
Beanie Feldstein is playing Lewinsky, while Clive Owen is taking on the role of Bill Clinton. Edie Falco is set to play Hillary Clinton, and Ryan Murphy staple Sarah Paulson will be Linda Tripp, the person who shared tapes of Lewinsky discussing the affair with her. Other cast members include Cobie Smulders, Billy Eichner, Annaleigh Ashford, Taran Killam and Margo Martindale.
Watching the trailer below, sure, maybe none of the actors are dead ringers for their historical counterparts, but with such a stacked cast you can overlook that Owen may not have Clinton’s Arkansas drawl down pat.
This is the third season of American Crime Story. The series has already covered the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the killing of fashion icon Gianni Versace. Both seasons were dominant in the limited series category their years at the Emmys, including going two-for-two in winning Outstanding Limited Series. You can watch either season right now on streaming.
Impeachment: American Crime Story will air live on FX, while streaming of each episode will be available after its initial airing on Hulu.
