Theres a lot to look forward to in FXs 10-episode miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson, Ryan Murphys first installment in his Amercian Crime Story anthology. Youll get to see John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, slimy in his expensive suits and giving whats arguably his best performance since Tarantino brought him back from the dead. Youll have the chance to witness Cuba Gooding Jr. do anunnervingly believable take on a potential psychopath with teetering sanity. And youll have the opportunity to watch David Schwimmers silver-streaked Robert Kardashian counsel his accused friend, then gasp in horror as his offspring realize that sensationalism attracts attention. (The horror! The horror!)
But the most impressive part of Murphys newest series may be the way it relies on its source material, Jeffery Toobins 1996 tome, The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson. That doesnt mean, however, that the showrunners and writers dont stretch the truth a bit for dramas sake. Below, five key points from Episode One, fact-checked and rated on a one-to-five Glove scale for accuracy.
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Just how were the bodies discovered?
In the series very first scene, a dog walker who triggers the investigation because the Simpson-Brown childrens pet Akita (named, wait for it, Kato) was barking near their front gate. The passerby sees that the poochs paws are stained with blood, peers his flashlight in the gangway, and discovers the bodies of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman a Law and Order setup if youve ever seen one.
In reality, it took much longer: According to Toobin, a neighbor named Steven Schwab had just finished hisa Sunday night ritual watching The Dick Van Dyke Show, which ended at 10:30pm when he took his dog out for a walk. He did discover the white Akita barking at the house, and noticed the blood, but he didnt look much further. Instead, the distraught dog followed him home. Around 11:40pm, as Schwab and his wife gave it a bowl of water and pondered what to do, their neighbor Sukru Boztepe and his wife returned and offered to care for the animal for the night. As Boztepe later told the court, the dog was acting so nervous that they let him out. Kato lead them straight to Nicole Browns home, and alerted them to the crime scene. They found two bodies, covered in blood. (3/5 Gloves)
Cochran was already part of the case before he joined the team
If you were to just watch the show, it would seem that the legendary trial lawyer was just waiting around for the Juices call. He pontificates on air, and offers the victims families his apologies, but otherwise has little contact. According to Toobins research, though, Cochran and OJ had been in touch since the beginning of the ordeal. Though television viewers never knew it, the author writes, he was a friend of O.J. Simpsons not, in normal circumstances, an intimate confidant, but certainly a long-term acquaintance. Since the day of the murders, Simpson had been on the phone with Cochran talking about his plight and asking the attorney to join in his defense efforts. ACS has kept them separate, however, at least for now, with Cochran participating in the coverage of the case without ever letting on that he might be offering the star advice. (1/5 Gloves)
O.J. almost killed himself in Kim Kardashians bedroom
In the hours before his Bronco-fueled escape, Simpson was hiding out at Robert Kardashians Encino home and, as ACS depicts, he was somewhat suicidal. Onscreen, the attorney chases his close friend through the house as the ex-running back holds a pistol to his own head. Kardashian catches up with him in his daughters room, replete with a Joey Lawrence poster, and begs him to put the weapon down. O.J., no this is where my daughter sleeps, he begs. Do not kill yourself in Kimmys bedroom.
According to Lawrence Schillers American Tragedy: The Uncensored Story of the O.J. Simpson Defense, these words were uttered, though O.J. seems to be situated in a guest suite, not the childhood bedroom of a future reality star: You cant. This is my daughters bedroom. Kardashian is thinking fast. I have my little girl in this room.' But late last year Schiller clarified his story, revealing that he had an audio recording of O.J.s goodbyes, recorded in Kims bedroom and that it was the location in which he threatened to shoot himself. No word on the veracity of the Tiger Beat centerfolds. (4/5 Gloves)
Despite his history of violence with Nicole, OJ was only arrested once
Simpson has a prior, one prosecutor says during the episode. Five years ago he pled no contest after he beat up Nicole. Never even did his community service. He just got out, celebrity-style. Raised money for camp Ronald McDonald. Sarah Paulson, as Marcia Clark, sets out his record in starker terms: Eight 911 calls. The police were called out there eight times. Nicole had a bruised face. Black eye. Bleeding lip. O.J. broke a windshield with a baseball bat. God, the system failed her.
Unfortunately, thats the kind way to put it. When the cops showed up at the Simpson-Brown home on January 1, 1989 the one and only time Simpson was arrested for domestic violence they had been out there plenty of times before. Simpson was buddies with many of the cops. As Toobin describes it, O.J. had entertained about 40 officers at his home at various times, and with their silence, the officers may have been repaying his hospitality. But this time, Nicole was in a bad state. There was the black eye, bleeding lip, red handprint on her neck, and that she was wearing just a bra and jeans as she flung herself in the officers arms, declaring O.J. was going to kill her. So they took him in. He pled out to 120 hours of community service, which he completed by organizing a Ronald McDonald benefit i.e., traveling the country hobnobbing with business contacts, and playing plenty of golf. (5/5 Gloves)
Just how important was the shot of O.J. being handcuffed in his backyard?
According to the minsieries, it was sneaky shot of O.J.s brief handcuffing that tipped the public off to his status as suspect. While the media probably would have known anyway there was a full-scale police investigation underway in his driveway the clip started a conversation that became an integral part of the defense.
Influential African American publication The Los Angeles Sentinal used that detail to illustrate the racist tactics of the LAPD. On the show, its depicted as a radio interview with the papers star writer, Dennis Schatzman. By paraphrasing his columns, ACS captures the disgust many had for the way he was treated. He has not been charged with a crime, and yet, they handcuffed him. They put him in chains, the character says. The black-white double standard endures. (4/5 Gloves)