# The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

The first season of American Crime Story, titled The People v. O. J. Simpson, revolves around the murder trial of O. J. Simpson, as well as the combination of prosecution confidence, defense witnesses, and the Los Angeles Police Department's history with African-American people. It is based on Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson (1997).
The ensemble cast includes Sterling K. Brown, Kenneth Choi, Christian Clemenson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bruce Greenwood, Nathan Lane, Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, John Travolta, and Courtney B. Vance. O.J. Simpson, Nicole Brown Simpson, Bill Clinton, Barbara Walters, Rodney King, and Penny Daniels appear via archive footage.
Cable channel FX announced American Crime Story in October 2014 and filming began in May 2015. Broadcast between February 2 and April 5, 2016, the first season was developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The two served as executive producer alongside Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson.
The People v. O. J. Simpson received critical acclaim for its directing, writing, and casting, particularly Paulson, Vance and Brown, though reactions to Travolta and Gooding's respective performances were more polarized. Among its awards, the season won nine Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three TCA Awards, and four Critics' Choice Television Awards. Paulson won six awards for her performance.

## Cast
### Main

* Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden
* Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito
* Christian Clemenson as William Hodgman
* Cuba Gooding Jr. as O. J. Simpson
* Bruce Greenwood as Gil Garcetti
* Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey
* Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark
* David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian
* John Travolta as Robert Shapiro
* Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran

### Recurring

* Keesha Sharp as Dale Cochran
* Chris Bauer as Det. Tom Lange
* Angel Parker as Shawn Chapman
* Selma Blair as Kris Jenner
* Jordana Brewster as Denise Brown
* Connie Britton as Faye Resnick
* Garrett M. Brown as Lou Brown
* Chris Conner as Jeffrey Toobin
* Kelly Dowdle as Nicole Brown Simpson
* Asia Monet Ray as Sydney Simpson
* Bonita Friedericy as Patti Goldman
* Dale Godboldo as Carl E. Douglas
* Jessica Blair Herman as Kim Goldman
* Evan Handler as Alan Dershowitz
* Larry King as himself
* Jake Koeppl as Ron Goldman
* Cheryl Ladd as Linell Shapiro
* Billy Magnussen as Kato Kaelin
* Rob Morrow as Barry Scheck
* Robert Morse as Dominick Dunne
* Michael McGrady as Det. Phillip Vannatter
* Steven Pasquale as Det. Mark Fuhrman
* Leonard Roberts as Dennis Schatzman
* Joseph Siravo as Fred Goldman
* Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Al Cowlings

### Guest

* Marguerite Moreau as Laura McKinny
* Angie Patterson as Paula Barbieri
* Kwame Patterson as Michael Darden
* Romy Rosemont as Jill Shively
* Duane Shepard Sr. as Mr. Darden
* Beau Wirick as Allan Park
* Ken Lerner as Howard Weitzman

### Archive footage/audio

* O.J. Simpson
* Nicole Brown Simpson
* Bill Clinton
* Oprah Winfrey
* Barbara Walters
* Rodney King
* Penny Daniels
* Bob Costas

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "From the Ashes of Tragedy" | Ryan Murphy | Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski | February 2, 2016 (2016-02-02) | 1WAX01 | 5.12 |
| Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are found stabbed to death outside her Brentwood condominium. Detective Tom Lange calls Brown's ex-husband, former NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson, who does not ask how she died. Simpson becomes a person of interest as deputy district attorney Marcia Clark learns that he physically abused Brown multiple times. As defense attorney Johnnie Cochran challenges Christopher Darden for not standing up to his race as a prosecutor, the LAPD questions Simpson, who gives vague responses for the day of the murders. Jill Shively saw Simpson driving away from the site of the murders. Limousine driver Allan Park notes Simpson's not responding to the intercom and a shadowy figure enter the house and Simpson’s Bronco not originally being parked at his house. Robert Kardashian talks Simpson into hiring litigator Robert Shapiro as his new attorney. Simpson later fails a polygraph test. Clark decides to charge Simpson after DNA results indicate his guilt; Kardashian finds Simpson with a gun, seemingly considering suicide, and attempts to calm him down. Officers arrive to take Simpson into custody; Simpson flees with longtime friend and fellow NFL player Al Cowlings in Cowlings' white Ford Bronco. ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Run of His Life" | Ryan Murphy | Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski | February 9, 2016 (2016-02-09) | 1WAX02 | 3.90 |
| District Attorney Gil Garcetti issues a statewide manhunt for Simpson, while Shapiro and Kardashian read Simpson's suicide letter. Shapiro holds a press conference to save face, with Kardashian reading the letter to the press. Simpson is spotted on the I-405; notified, the LAPD initiate a low-speed chase that is broadcast live on TV. Simpson orders Cowlings to drive him to Brentwood, where he appears to act conflicted as to whether to kill himself; Kardashian ultimately calms him down and asks that he surrender. Simpson complies and is taken into custody. ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Dream Team" | Anthony Hemingway | Daniel Vincent DeVincentis | February 16, 2016 (2016-02-16) | 1WAX03 | 3.34 |
| Shapiro begins assembling his defense team. Simpson is to be prosecuted for the murders; he is eligible for the death penalty. Garcetti later chooses to recommend a life sentence, because of Simpson's popularity. Clark reveals the evidence to the media. A TIME magazine cover that appears to feature a darkened image of Simpson raises issues of racism in the media. Shapiro signs F. Lee Bailey onto the team, who recommends hiring noted attorney Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz mentions that they could argue that the DNA found at the crime scene could have been tampered with. They make this a key to the defense, after learning that Mark Fuhrman, a detective involved in the case, made several racist comments during his career. Deciding to frame the defense with the argument that the LAPD is systemically racist and framed Simpson for racial reasons, Shapiro talks to Jeffrey Toobin, a reporter from The New Yorker. He later publishes this exchange. Simpson agrees to hire Johnnie Cochran as the final member of his team. Meanwhile, most of the prosecution's key evidence is leaked to the media. Clark decides not to use Shively as a witness when she sells her story to a tabloid TV show. ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "100% Not Guilty" | Anthony Hemingway | Maya Forbes & Wallace Wolodarsky and Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski | February 23, 2016 (2016-02-23) | 1WAX04 | 3.00 |
| Shapiro adopts a strategy of resisting and objecting to every motion by the prosecution. While he is on vacation, however, Bailey, Cochran, and Kardashian convince Simpson to endorse Cochran as the lead attorney. Judge Lance Ito is called to preside over the trial, and the process of jury selection begins, with both sides seeking a racial composition favorable to their own agenda. Both Clark and Cochran believe that whites are biased against Simpson and black men are biased in his favor. All potential black female jurors align with Simpson as much as do their male counterparts, denouncing Nicole as an unfaithful gold digger. Clark has to confront her lack of appeal to jurors of all backgrounds, despite having previously successfully represented battered African-American wives. Faye Resnick's book is published, which details Brown's lifestyle and relationship to Simpson, and detracts more potential evidence from the trial. Clark and Garcetti decide that they need to add a black lawyer to the prosecution to buffer the effect of the charismatic Cochran. She calls on Christopher Darden, who joins the prosecution team. ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Race Card" | John Singleton | Joe Robert Cole | March 1, 2016 (2016-03-01) | 1WAX05 | 2.73 |
| In 1982, while working as assistant DA for LA County, Cochran is pulled over and almost arrested in front of his children by a racist officer for no reason. He barely avoids being taken into custody before the officer understands who he is. Cochran is inspired to return to private practice by this incident. In 1995, the Simpson trial begins. Darden attempts to sway the jury from assuming racist implications in the case. Cochran delivers a fiery rebuttal, humiliating the prosecutors. Clark assigns Darden to interview Mark Fuhrman and coach him on how to speak during the trial as a credible witness. Darden gets a bad feeling about Fuhrman, suspecting him to be a racist, as suggested by his murky history, but Clark disregards his suspicions. Meanwhile, Cochran redecorates Simpson's home, expressing an image of him as being more proud and promoting an African-American identity than he did, to prepare for a jury tour of the property. After the defense introduces new witnesses, illegally, William Hodgman suffers a panic attack and faints in court. Clark nominates Darden to replace him as the co-leading prosecutor. A new obstacle emerges for the prosecution, when Fuhrman is shown to have Nazi memorabilia. ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" | Ryan Murphy | Daniel Vincent DeVincentis | March 8, 2016 (2016-03-08) | 1WAX06 | 3.00 |
| Clark is going through a bitter divorce. The media regularly criticizes her attitude and appearance, and she becomes overwhelmed by this sudden celebrity status. Television networks interrupt daytime programming for coverage of the trial. Darden and Clark bond at the office after-hours with drinks and dancing. A reporter from the Los Angeles Times confronts Cochran about alleged past domestic violence against his first wife. Clark gets a different hair style in an effort to lessen criticism about her appearance, but it is not well received. Bailey cross-examines Fuhrman, repeatedly asking him if he has used the word nigger in the last ten years to describe African Americans, which Fuhrman strongly denies. Darden consoles Clark, who bemoans being turned into a public personality like the flashy defense lawyers. ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Conspiracy Theories" | Anthony Hemingway | Daniel Vincent DeVincentis | March 15, 2016 (2016-03-15) | 1WAX07 | 2.89 |
| Shapiro begins to doubt Simpson's innocence and tries to convince the other lawyers to agree to a plea deal, but none will consider debating it. Kardashian begins to doubt Simpson's innocence as there are no other suspects; he is troubled by Simpson's behaviour and his lack of interest in finding the real killer. Clark travels to Oakland with Darden for a friend's birthday, showing their increasing closeness; while having drinks with his friends, Clark is told of a scenario where the police conspired to frame Simpson. She mocks the suggestion that evidence was planted by conjuring up a huge, complex conspiracy by highlighting inconsistencies with the theory, that even her sceptical listeners find hard to accept. Back in court, Simpson tries on the leather gloves; after he seemingly struggles to put on the gloves, they appear to be too small to fit him. ||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "A Jury in Jail" | Anthony Hemingway | Joe Robert Cole | March 22, 2016 (2016-03-22) | 1WAX08 | 2.91 |
| The members of the jury start to go stir-crazy and deal with cabin fever during sequestration. A few are excused for having lied on the questionnaire or having had some kind of connections with Simpson. The defense and counsel begin to focus on getting alternates who they believe will vote in Simpson's favor at the time of the verdict. After the glove debacle, people begin to believe in Simpson's evidence. But when Clark presents the DNA evidence in court, doubts arise again. Even the ever-faithful Kardashian begins to suspect Simpson's story, while Cochran and Shapiro seem unconcerned. Defense DNA expert Barry Scheck counters the DNA evidence by suggesting that it was mishandled or planted. This was early in the use of DNA evidence, and most people did not understand how conclusive it was. ||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Manna from Heaven" | Anthony Hemingway | Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski | March 29, 2016 (2016-03-29) | 1WAX09 | 2.76 |
| Following a tip from a private investigator, Bailey and Cochran travel to North Carolina, where they uncover audio tapes of Fuhrman recounting stories of having tortured, killed, and framed black suspects for fun. The defense fight for the tapes to be played for the jury despite their irrelevance to the case. But among the people who Fuhrman attacks in those tapes is his superior, police Captain Peggy York. She is married to Judge Ito. In pretrial proceedings, she had denied having any connections to Fuhrman, so that Ito could preside over the case. A mistrial is barely avoided. Ito ultimately allows certain excerpts of the tapes to be played to prove Fuhrman's perjury about not having made racist comments. After Cochran calls Fuhrman back to the stand, the officer refuses to answer any more questions, including whether or not he deliberately planted any evidence to frame Simpson. Clark is dismayed by his poor performance. ||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Verdict" | Ryan Murphy | Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski | April 5, 2016 (2016-04-05) | 1WAX10 | 3.27 |
| On the last day of proceedings, Simpson declines to take the stand and instead asserts his innocence and desire for the trial to end. Following four hours of deliberation, the jury delivers a "not guilty" verdict. Despite being dumbstruck with the whole process, Marcia Clark and Chris Darden acknowledge that it was delivered out of vengeance for the racism within the LAPD. Simpson returns to civilian life, but although his family and Cowlings welcome him with open arms, he discovers many old friends have severed all ties with him, he is ostracised by his predominantly white neighbors in his wealthy enclave and his favorite establishments ban him as a customer. At his celebration party, Simpson reads aloud a note declaring his intent to find the real killer. Kardashian leaves him. Realising that his reputation has been tarnished, a lonely Simpson goes into his backyard, where he gazes at a life-size statue of himself in his prime. ||||||||

## Production
### Development

On October 7, 2014, it was announced that FX had ordered a 10-episode season of American Crime Story, developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and executive produced by Alexander and Karaszewski, as well as Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Murphy also directed the pilot episode. Other executive producers are Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Co-executive producers are Anthony Hemingway and D. V. DeVincentis. All 10 episodes were expected to be written by Alexander and Karaszewski. The series was previously in development at Fox but since moved to the company's sibling cable network FX. Murphy and others wanted to create an unbiased account of the trial by doing "certain takes guilty, certain takes innocent" according to Cuba Gooding Jr so that they would have a "plethora of emotions to play with".

### Casting

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson were the first to be cast as Simpson and Marcia Clark, respectively. Subsequently, David Schwimmer was cast as Robert Kardashian. In January 2015, it was reported that John Travolta had joined the cast as Robert Shapiro; he would also serve as producer. In February 2015, Courtney B. Vance joined the series as Johnnie Cochran. In March 2015, it was announced that Connie Britton would co-star as Faye Resnick. April 2015 saw the casting of Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden, Jordana Brewster as Denise Brown, and Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito. In May 2015, it was confirmed Selma Blair would be portraying Kris Kardashian Jenner. In July 2015, it was announced Nathan Lane had joined the cast as F. Lee Bailey.

### Filming

Principal photography began on May 14, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.

## Promotion

In October 2015, FX released its first promotional trailer for The People v. O. J. Simpson, showing an Akita dog whining, walking from its residence onto a sidewalk to bark, then walking back to its residence, leaving behind bloody paw prints. Later that month another teaser was released, wherein the first actual footage of Travolta as Shapiro was shown. In the teaser, Shapiro is about to ask Simpson (whose face is unseen) if he is responsible for the murder of Simpson's ex-wife. In the next short teaser that was released, Simpson (again unseen) is taking a lie detector test.
In November, two new teasers were released. The first shows Simpson writing his attempted suicide letter, while a voice-over by Gooding Jr. narrates. The second shows the police chasing Simpson's white Ford Bronco, while dozens of fans cheer for him.
The first full trailer was released in December, along with a poster for the season. The trailer included Simpson sitting in the childhood bedroom of Kim Kardashian and contemplating suicide while Robert Kardashian tries to stop him.

## Reception
### Reviews

The People v. O.J. Simpson received acclaim from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the season an approval rating of 97%, based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 8.74/10. The site's critical consensus read, "The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story brings top-shelf writing, directing, and acting to bear on a still-topical story while shedding further light on the facts—and provoking passionate responses along the way." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 90 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Many critics singled out many cast members for the performances, particularly Paulson and Vance. Dan Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of Paulson and Vance, writing: "As Clark's discomfort grows, Paulson's collection of tics seem more and more human, [...] Vance's Cochran is sometimes hilarious, but he has a dynamic range such that he's occasionally introspective and always intelligent as well." Brian Lowry of Variety praised the casting of the smaller roles, particularly Connie Britton as Faye Resnick and Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey.
Travolta and Gooding's respective portrayals of Shapiro and Simpson were met with mixed reviews by critics. Brian Lowry of Variety called Travolta "awful" in the role, adding: "Yes, Shapiro spoke in stiff, measured tones, but the actor's overly mannered line readings turn the attorney into a buffoon, in sharp contrast to the more nuanced portrayals around him." Nicole Jones of Vanity Fair called his performance "campy and calculated". Dan Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter also criticized his performance, calling it "a mesmerizingly bad performance from the eyebrows down." He also wrote that "His unnecessary accent varies by episode, and Travolta's laser intensity feels arch and almost kabuki at times, turning Shapiro into a terrifying character from the next American Horror Story installment, rather than a part of this ensemble."
Maureen Ryan of Vanity Fair, conversely, became more impressed with Travolta as the season progressed: "I started in the realm of puzzled disbelief, arrived at amusement, and ultimately traveled to a place of sincere appreciation. You simply can't take your eyes off Travolta, and that is a form of enchantment." Elisabeth Garber-Paul of Rolling Stone also called it "arguably [Travolta's] best performance since" Pulp Fiction. Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote that Travolta's was the show's "broadest performance".
Dave Schilling of The Guardian panned Gooding's performance, writing: "his whiny, gravely voice sounds absolutely nothing like the real O. J. Simpson's deep, commanding tones." Michael Starr of New York Post also was highly critical of Gooding's performance, saying that he "portrays Simpson as a hollow, sad-sack cipher who speaks in a high-pitched whine and sleepwalks in a fog he never shakes after being arrested for the brutal double murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. He's a forgettable, annoying presence in what should be a showcase role for Gooding—who, to be fair, is reciting lines written for him, so he can only do so much with the material."
On the other hand, Joe McGovern was more positive on Gooding's performance, writing that his casting "takes a risk and pulls it off." Elisabeth Garber-Paul of Rolling Stone described his performance as "an unnervingly believable take on a potential psychopath with teetering sanity." Nick Venable of Cinema Blend also opined that Gooding's turn as Simpson "could indeed get him on a shortlist of Emmy nominees."
In spite of the mixed reviews for their performances, Gooding and Travolta received Emmy nominations. Travolta was also nominated as one of the producers of the show in the Outstanding Limited Series category, which he ultimately won. Gooding's nomination was criticized by some reviewers.

### Reaction from individuals involved

Mark Fuhrman, who is portrayed by Steven Pasquale, refused to watch the series and called his portrayal untruthful. In an interview with New York Post, he said, "The last 20 years, I have watched the facts dismissed by the media, journalists and the public simply because it does not fit within the politically correct narrative. At this late date, FX is attempting to establish a historical artifact with this series without reaching out to any prosecution sources. In a time when Americans read less and less and investigative journalism is on vacation, it is sad that this movie will be the historical word on this infamous trial. After all, it was 'based on a true story.'"
Marcia Clark praised the series and called Sarah Paulson's portrayal of her "phenomenal". During an interview on The Wendy Williams Show, Clark admitted that she watched the series with friends "to keep me from jumping off the balcony", and that she was emotionally unable to watch the series' recreation of Fuhrman's testimony. Clark also said her sons were only able to watch the first episode. Clark went to the Emmys with Sarah Paulson, who won that night for her performance.
The families of Brown and Goldman expressed anger at the show. Nicole Brown's sister, Tanya Brown, lashed out at the cast members for what she saw as a lack of consultation with the families. Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, expressed numerous criticisms of the series even though they were portrayed sympathetically. Among them was his statement that the series did not devote enough material to his son, who is only depicted on the show as a corpse. He expressed concern that the generations of people who were too young to understand the events at the time would assume the series' depiction of events was accurate. Goldman's family also criticized the series for not depicting the murders, as they believe that Goldman died trying to save Brown from her attacker and that he was the man who eyewitnesses heard shouting that night. Goldman's sister, Kim, criticized the series for sympathetic portrayals of Simpson and Kardashian, despite the fact that in real life, Kardashian had admitted to having had actual doubts about Simpson's innocence and eventually severed his ties with him.

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "From the Ashes of Tragedy" | February 2, 2016 | 2.0 | 5.11 | 1.6 | 3.86 | 3.6 | 8.97 |
| 2 | "The Run of His Life" | February 9, 2016 | 1.5 | 3.89 | 1.9 | 4.37 | 3.4 | 8.26 |
| 3 | "The Dream Team" | February 16, 2016 | 1.3 | 3.33 | 1.6 | 3.45 | 2.9 | 6.78 |
| 4 | "100% Not Guilty" | February 23, 2016 | 1.3 | 2.99 | 1.4 | 3.35 | 2.7 | 6.34 |
| 5 | "The Race Card" | March 1, 2016 | 1.1 | 2.72 | 2.0 | 4.28 | 3.1 | 7.00 |
| 6 | "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" | March 8, 2016 | 1.2 | 3.00 | 1.8 | 4.03 | 3.0 | 7.03 |
| 7 | "Conspiracy Theories" | March 15, 2016 | 1.2 | 2.89 | 1.7 | 3.88 | 2.9 | 6.77 |
| 8 | "A Jury in Jail" | March 22, 2016 | 1.2 | 2.91 | 1.3 | 3.01 | 2.5 | 5.92 |
| 9 | "Manna from Heaven" | March 29, 2016 | 1.1 | 2.76 | 1.8 | 3.99 | 2.9 | 6.75 |
| 10 | "The Verdict" | April 5, 2016 | 1.3 | 3.27 | 1.6 | 3.51 | 2.9 | 6.78 |

## Accolades

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated artist/work | Result |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | Courtney B. Vance | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | Cuba Gooding Jr. | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | Sterling K. Brown (for "Manna from Heaven") | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | David Schwimmer (for "Conspiracy Theories") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | John Travolta (for "100% Not Guilty") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie | Ryan Murphy (for "From the Ashes of Tragedy") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie | John Singleton (for "The Race Card") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie | Anthony Hemingway (for "Manna from Heaven") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie | Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (for "From the Ashes of Tragedy") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie | Joe Robert Cole (for "The Race Card") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie | D. V. DeVincentis (for "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia") | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special | Jeanne McCarthy, Nicole Abellera Hallman, Courtney Bright, and Nicole Daniels | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie | Nelson Cragg (for "From the Ashes of Tragedy") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Period Costumes | Hala Bahmet, Marina Ray, and Elinor Bardach (for "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie | Chris Clark, Natalie Driscoll, Shay Sanford-Fong, and Katrina Chevalier | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup (Non-Prosthetic) | Eryn Krueger Mekash, Zoe Hay, Heather Plott, Deborah Huss Humphries, Luis Garcia, and Becky Cotton | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie | Adam Penn (for "From the Ashes of Tragedy") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie | C. Chi-Yoon Chung (for "The Race Card") | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie | Stewart Schill (for "The Verdict") | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie | Doug Andham, Joe Earle, and John Bauman (for "From the Ashes of Tragedy") | Won |
| 2016 | 32nd TCA Awards |
| 2016 | 32nd TCA Awards | Program of the Year | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2016 | 32nd TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2016 | 32nd TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2016 | 32nd TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Courtney B. Vance | Nominated |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Movie/ Miniseries | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries | Courtney B. Vance | Won |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries | Cuba Gooding Jr. | Nominated |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Movie/ Miniseries | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/ Miniseries | Sterling K. Brown | Won |
| 2016 | 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/ Miniseries | John Travolta | Nominated |
| 2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Limited Series or Television Film | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Limited Series or TV Film | Courtney B. Vance | Nominated |
| 2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Limited Series or TV Film | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Sterling K. Brown | Nominated |
| 2017 | 74th Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Television | John Travolta | Nominated |
| 2017 | 21st Satellite Awards | Best Miniseries or Television Film | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2017 | 21st Satellite Awards | Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film | Courtney B. Vance | Nominated |
| 2017 | 21st Satellite Awards | Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film | Cuba Gooding Jr. | Nominated |
| 2017 | 21st Satellite Awards | Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2017 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Long Form – Adapted | Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, and Wally Wolodarsky | Won |
| 2017 | American Film Institute Awards 2016 | Top 10 Television Programs | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Won |
| 2017 | 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Sterling K. Brown | Nominated |
| 2017 | 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Courtney B. Vance | Nominated |
| 2017 | 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Sarah Paulson | Won |
| 2017 | ACE Eddie Awards 2017 | Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television | Adam Penn, Stewart Schill and C. Chi-yoon Chung (for "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia") | Nominated |
| 2017 | 21st Art Directors Guild Awards | Excellence in Production Design for a Television Movie or Limited Series | Jeffrey Mossa (for "100% Not Guilty"," ""Marcia, Marcia, Marcia"," ""Manna From Heaven") | Nominated |
| 2017 | Producers Guild of America Awards 2017 | Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, D.V. DeVincentis, Anthony Hemingway, Alexis Martin Woodall, John Travolta, Chip Vucelich | Won |
| 2017 | Cinema Audio Society Awards 2017 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Movie or Mini-Series | John Bauman, Joe Earle, Doug Andham, Judah Getz and John Guentner | Won |
| 2017 | Society of Camera Operators Awards | Camera Operator of the Year – Television | Andrew Mitchell | Won |
| 2017 | British Academy Television Awards | Best International Program | Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson | Won |

## Home media

The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on September 6, 2016, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment