Okay, one of Ryan Murphy's many projects has reportedly been tabled, at least for now. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy shared that he has stopped pursuing a season of American Crime Story about Monica Lewinsky. In January of last year, THR reported that Murphy was plotting a season around Lewinsky and the scandal that shook '90s politics. A month later, E! News shared that Sarah Paulson, a resident of Ryan Murphy's vast television kingdom, would play Lewinsky. Murphy told THR that he scrapped the idea because he felt it deserved Lewinsky herself at the helm.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"I told [Monica Lewinsky], 'Nobody should tell your story but you, and it's kind of gross if they do," he recalled, adding, "'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.'"
Murphy did not elaborate on whether or not Lewinsky agreed to work on the show. For now, it seems, the season of ACS is on the back burner, which might have happened anyway, considering Murphy's workload. The TV titan just signed a $300 million deal with Netflix. And, he's still working on a number of shows on FX, including American Crime Story: Katrina and the upcoming show Pose, which has the distinction of the being the show with the most transgender actors in series regular roles on television. The future of all Murphy's shows, not just ACS, seems to be in flux as we learn the specifics of Murphy's Netflix deal.
This doesn't mean that we'll never see ACS: The White House. The upcoming season of ACS, which will focus on Hurricane Katrina, has been delayed, and it managed to escape the clutches of pre-production death. It was originally supposed to air before the Versace season that aired this spring, but various issues surrounding the source material stymied development. Last summer, series director Anthony Hemingway told THR that those involved were "standing by" to find out the fate of the show. The future of ACS: Katrina seemed bleak. But then, it pulled through. As of now, the show is officially happening. Sarah Paulson will star in it — remember, she was also set to star as Lewinsky! — and it will air in 2019. Who knows? Maybe Monica Lewinsky is the next great television producer.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
When reached by email, representation for Lewinsky declined to comment for this story.