LOS ANGELES _ After it seemed as though it wasn't going to happen, FX announced the third season of its "American Crime Story" franchise will indeed tackle Bill Clinton's White House scandal and impeachment.
The news came Tuesday during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association publicity tour in Beverly Hills.
Titled "Impeachment," the new season begins production early next year and will premiere Sept. 27. Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern who got swept up in a media firestorm because of her affair with the former president, will serve as a producer. Executive producer Ryan Murphy has previously said he hadn't wanted to move forward with the season without her involvement.
The cast will include Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky, and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones. Sarah Burgess will write the series, based on Jeffrey Toobin's 1999 bestseller, "A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President." (Another Toobin book, "The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson," served as the foundation for the inaugural season of the franchise, "The People vs. O.J. Simpson.")
"This franchise reexamines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced and entertaining," said FX Networks Chairman John Landgraf in a statement. "'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."
