26 TV shows to watch in 2018

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, FX, Jan. 16

Let’s be honest: The triumph of American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson is hard to top. For its second installment, creator Ryan Murphy took on the story of Andrew Cunanan, the 27-year-old serial killer whose sadistic months-long murder spree culminated in the shooting death of designer Gianni Versace outside his mansion in Miami. Darren Criss steals the show as Cunanan, and there are star turns from Penelope Cruz (as Donatella Versace) and — most intriguingly — Ricky Martin, whose rich performance as Versace’s lover has painful resonances with his own history as a closeted star until he came out in 2010. The show’s pilot is gorgeous and lives up to its name, but by the fourth or fifth episode, it’s drifted so far from Versace that it’s unclear why it’s named for him at all. If you’re hoping for insight into Versace as a person or a brand, you’ll likely come away disappointed. But if you overlook the title, this is a fascinating show about a serial killer and how homophobia structured everything from fashion to business to criminal investigations in the ‘90s.

26 TV shows to watch in 2018