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Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Crime Story has tackled major national news stories, like the O.J. Simpson trial and the murder of Gianni Versace, in its first two seasons. Season three, which will be called Impeachment: American Crime Story, will tell the story of the attempt to remove President Bill Clinton from office in the late ’90s after it was revealed he had a relationship with then White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
“This franchise reexamines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced, and entertaining,” John Landgraf, chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions, said about the series. “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.”
Here’s everything we know so far about American Crime Story’s third installment.
The cast: Beanie Feldstein will star as Lewinsky, with Murphy staple Sarah Paulson playing Linda Tripp, whose secret recordings of Lewinsky led to the investigation. Annaleigh Ashford will play Clinton accuser Paula Jones.
Monica Lewinksy is a producer on the show. The story of the Clinton scandal has been told many times, but with Lewinsky’s involvement, we’re sure to get a different perspective on events.
“Nobody should tell your story but you, and it’s kind of gross if they do,” Murphy says he told Lewinsky, per a Vanity Fair article. He told her, “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.”
Lewinsky also revealed to VF why she said yes. “I was hesitant, and truthfully more than a little scared to sign on. 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 marginalized 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,” she said. “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.
“But I’m so grateful for the growth we’ve made as a society that allows people like me who have been historically silenced to finally reintroduce my voice to the conversation,” Lewinsky continued. “This isn’t just a me problem. 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.”
The source material: Along with Lewinsky’s input, the season will be based on Jeffrey Toobin’s best-selling book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.
The premiere date: September 7 on FX.
And now, Beanie as Monica: On August 2, the rising star posted the first poster for the new series on her Instagram page, writing in the caption, “Every side has a story.”
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The first teaser is here, and it’s chilling. Watch, below.
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And watch this new trailer where Linda (Paulson) and Monica (Feldstein) square off.
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Next, check out this new, full-length trailer to hear those infamous words: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
And another one—with a lot more yelling.
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The same day the newest trailer was released, FX presented a panel with Beanie Feldstein, Sarah Paulson, Annaleigh Ashford, and executive producers Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Sarah Burgess at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. Here’s what they revealed…
Sarah Paulson says she doesn’t think Linda Tripp is “unlikeable.” When a journalist asked Paulson about how she feels about the woman she portrays, Paulson explained that after inhabiting the character for the better part of a year—and having wrapped the series only a day earlier—she doesn’t hate the controversial figure. “I certainly think her choices are questionable…but in terms of her being unlikeable, I just don’t share that view.”
Beanie Feldstein had only one in-person meeting with Monica Lewinsky before filming commenced. “We had a beautiful get-to-know-you, but because of the [pandemic], she was not able to be on set.” Feldstein said that their relationship was more of a friendship instead of a work one, even though Lewinsky is a producer on the series. “I made it very clear to her when we started filming that I felt like her bodyguard. I said, ‘I have your heart, and that’s my job.’ We had a complete trust in one another. I asked her about nail polish and little things to make it feel very specific. I think she knew I really had her back.”
Feldstein had to learn to use a pager and other ’90s accessories for the series. In 1998, at the height of the scandal, Feldstein was only five years old. “I was very young when this happened, and I’d be like, ‘How do I work a pager?’" she said with a laugh. “I learned this story from all the research I did, and reading [Lewinsky’s memoir] Monica’s Story. I was about as blank of a slate as you could possibly have. I was really taking this in for the first time, so I didn’t have my own preconceived notions. It was deeply important to me to redeem her.”
Annaleigh Ashford did not speak with Paula Jones before playing her in the series. “I have not talked to Paula Jones,” Ashford told TCA journalists. Regardless, Ashford says the ACS: Impeachment “gives a view of what every character was going through, and I think Paula Jones’s perspective is going to be surprising to a lot of people.” She said the women portrayed in the series—from Lewinsky to Tripp to Jones—had no agency or voice because of their circumstances at the time. Ashford found that Jones became more comfortable in the public eye the more she was thrown in front of the media but still retained an innocence and naïveté. “There was such a shift in her body language as time went on, but I always felt there was a childlike quality about her…there was always somebody else at the wheel, so it was important for me to show that physicality. And I got a dialect coach because she talks so high that I couldn’t quite talk as high as she does.”
The hair and makeup transformations are truly stunning. Ashford said the process of applying the prosthetics to get into character as Paula Jones took about 30 minutes each day. “It was only about 30 minutes…just the tip of my nose,” she said; this didn’t factor in the time it took to put on her wig and get into costume. But for Paulson, who transformed into Linda Tripp, it was a much more extensive process: “Mine was about three and a half hours every day.” To make things even more complicated, because of intense COVID protocols on set, all hair and makeup teams had to do such detailed work wearing masks and face shields. “The teams that were working on our actors were doing it in really difficult conditions,” executive producer Brad Simpson pointed out.
Much like Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson: ACS, the women in Impeachment: ACS were torn apart in the media and by the public because of their looks. “The way that these women were treated for the way that they looked was such an important part of the storytelling,” Ashford said. "In this instance, it was really important to show the physical shift that some of these women made to themselves because of how they were treated publicly…it was just horrific."
Clive Owen was the producers’ first choice to play President William Jefferson Clinton. “He was the only actor we went to,” Simpson revealed. “There was a lot of talk of who has that physical presence…that charisma…we sent the episodes to Clive, and we had an hour-long conversation with him and he signed on. We did something with his nose, and he also studied with an accent coach. He sat there with his dialogue and trying to get that Bill Clinton cadence. You really believe he is the most charismatic man in America.”
The sixth episode in the 10-episode series took nearly a month to shoot. “It was about 23 days to film [the episode titled ‘Prom Night‘],” Feldstein revealed. In comparison, Feldstein filmed her hit 2019 film, Booksmart, in 25 days. “It was incredibly taxing, but the most rewarding experience I’ve ever had as an actor,” she says of the sixth episode, which is directed by Ryan Murphy. “It’s Monica alone in a room with all these men, and Ryan was remarkable in leading me through that experience. Monica is really on a roller coaster that whole time, but every time it got hard, I just kept saying, ‘This is for Monica, this is for Monica.’ And I’d keep digging deeper.”
This post will be updated as new details emerge.
