Disco daze

Studio 54 to get the American Crime Story treatment from Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy (Photo: Shutterstock)

FX has announced that it has commissioned three new shows from Ryan Murphy, with each an expansion of his ‘America Story’ banner. The umbrella term kick-started with the launch of American Horror Story in 2011.

Following the third season of American Crime Story, Impeachment, which is due to debut in September and will center on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, a fourth season of the show is now in development. It will focus on the rise and fall of the New York nightclub Studio 54.

The famed Manhattan disco was opened in 1977 by Steve Rubell, who was gay, and Ian Schrager. Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, Bianca Jagger were among its regulars. However, after three notorious years, the doors were closed forever after the entrepreneurs were convicted for tax fraud.

Related: Ryan Murphy pays beautiful tribute to Billy Porter after he reveals HIV status

This won’t be the first time Murphy has explored the topic of Studio 54. The venue featured prominently in his recent Netflix show, Halston, about the famed gay fashion designer. The venue was also the subject of a 1998 film, 54, with Mike Myers playing Rubell.

It’s not known yet when the season will debut. Impeachment has been delayed by a year because of the pandemic.

Besides a fourth American Crime Story, FX announced Friday that Murphy was also working on his first American Love Story and first American Sports Story.

According to Deadline, the first season of ‘Love Story’ will focus on “the whirlwind courtship and marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. What started out as a beautiful union for the young couple, widely regarded as American royalty, began to fray under the stress of the relentless microscope and navel-gaze of tabloid media.”

The first American Sports Story will examine the life and death of NFL star Aaron Hernandez. The former New England Patriots player was convicted of murder in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison. He took his own life in 2017. Several sources have since said that Hernandez was gay and struggled greatly with his sexuality.

Related: Here’s the first look at Ewan McGregor as the gay designer in Ryan Murphy’s ‘Halston’

“When Ryan Murphy came to us with these two spinoffs and the stories for American Sports Story and American Love Story, we immediately jumped at the opportunity,” said John Landgraf, Chairman of FX.

Murphy will executive produce alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.

“What began with American Horror Story has spawned some of the best and most indelible programs of our generation, most notably American Crime Story which created a beautiful partnership between Ryan, Brad, Nina and Brad.

“Their alchemy and the way in which they construct these stories is done with such care, such clarity and such dimensionality that creates the magnificence that is The People v. O.J. Simpson, The Assassination of Gianni Versace and Impeachment. We can’t wait to see what comes next.”

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