1. ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ Episode 4: “House By the Lake”
With its fourth episode, The Assassination of Gianni Versace emerged as the show it had been trying to be. Without the gaudy trappings of the Versace family, producer Ryan Murphy and writer Tom Rob Smith turned their narrative eye towards the unbearably tragic murder of David Madson.
Darren Criss (as Andrew Cunanan) and Cody Fern (as Madson) turn in searing performances as killer and victim, respectively, anchoring the episode even as it takes a few flights of fancy. — Joe Reid
The Assassination Of Gianni Versace didn’t seize the zeitgeist the way its predecessor did, but it still made for a focused tragedy told in novel fashion a visual flair fit for the late fashion icon of its title. Played with tremendous warmth by Édgar Ramírez, Versace is ultimately a supporting character here, the spotlight falling on Darren Criss, doing the best work of his career as Versace’s murderer, Andrew Cunanan. At turns magnetic and terrifying, Criss plays Andrew as a creature of pathological confidence and need, forged from the pressures of the American dream and an internalized homophobia whose external manifestations allowed his crimes to go overlooked and under-investigated for months. In the mixed-up chronology of Tom Rob Smith’s scripts, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story shows not how the monster was once a man, but how the man always had some bit of monstrousness impressed upon him, an ugliness that festered in Cunanan and claimed the lives of others, until it snuffed out one of the world’s true champions of beauty. [Erik Adams]
Ryan Murphy originally planned for a Hurricane Katrina-themed season of his American Crime Story anthology series to follow 2016’s wildly acclaimed The People v. O.J. Simpson. But with the Katrina season now being retooled (it should air in 2019), the anthology’s second installment instead focuses on a series of murders in the 1990s, culminating in the shocking 1997 killing of fashion designer Gianni Versace (played by Edgar Ramirez) in Miami.
Despite the title, the series mostly focuses on the life of serial killer Andrew Cunanan (Glee’s Darren Criss), and his story (based on Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors) is told in reverse, beginning with Versace’s assassination and then moving backwards to fill in the details.
“Assassination may not be as enjoyable to watch as O.J., but it’s striking to see how thoughtfully all involved approach a very different story in a way that gives it its own tone, its own themes, and its own grandeur. This is a more difficult but more ambitious work, and it stands as a worthy companion.” —Todd VanDerWerff, Vox
How American is it? Each season revisits a different crime scandal in America’s history. Given America’s obsession with true crime, this is American has hell. (Also a Ryan Murphy property.)
07. THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNA VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY (FX)
Season: two, following The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Nine episodes. Finale aired March 21st.
Who’s In It? Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Cody Fern, Finn Wittrock, Ricky Martin, Judith Light, Mike Farrell, Max Greenfield
Best Outing: Episode 5, “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Must-See TV: If David Lynch reigned over television in 2017, this year belongs to Ryan Murphy. But, we already knew that back in January, when the second season of American Crime Story swept everyone away to the lascivious ’90s. On the surface, it’s a total distillation of Murphy’s worst trademarks — his hit-or-miss brand of melodrama, his ensemble of larger-than-life caricatures, and his manic, sweeping gesticulations at cultural commentary — only it’s made pure through execution. Stylish, sensual, and curiously affecting, The Assassination of Gianni Versace feels like a genuine statement from the veteran producer (and from writer Tom Rob Smith).
Much like the first season wasn’t really about the OJ Simpson, this series is hardly about Versace. Instead, it’s a lavish and sobering portrait of queer culture, not just for yesterday, but today. Through the eyes of spree killer Andrew Cunanan, played to dizzying spectacle by Darren Criss, we witness a thriving scene hampered by society around it. It’s a tricky line Murphy toes, and one that hasn’t been without its share of controversy, but he nails it. And thanks to a saucy soundtrack that ranges from Phil Collins to Laura Branigan to Aimee Mann covering the goddamn Cars, Murphy makes it an event. –Michael Roffman
2. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Just as The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story wasn’t just about the OJ case, The Assassination of Gianni Versace isn’t just about the fashion icon’s murder at the hands of Andrew Cunanan. Showrunner Ryan Murphy uses Versace’s death as the jumping off point to assess the ripple effects of homophobia in the United States, while still telling the gripping true story it’s based on with impeccable casting, pacey scripts, and slick production values. Murphy takes bold risks with the storytelling structure too, opening with the killing and reversing through Cunanan’s meltdown to trace the trail of destruction he wreaked.
3. ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ (FX)
The latest “American Crime Story” adaptation is a misnomer, as it follows (mostly in reverse chronological order) the life of Versace’s murderer, Andrew Cunanan. But as played in a tour de force and award-worthy performance by Darren Criss, Cunanan’s and Versace’s (Edgar Ramirez) interwoven stories are riveting and revealing, a study of the lives and struggles of gay men in the 1990s. At times difficult to watch, the portrait of the spree killer is gilded and fascinating, gorgeous and off-putting from beginning to end.
Anthology series. 9 episodes. The second iteration of Ryan Murphy’s true crime anthology is not nearly as mesmerizing as The People v. O.J. Simpson, maybe because it doesn’t have David Schwimmer saying “Juice” repeatedly. Still, this one, which focuses on what led the serial killer Andrew Cunanan (played by Darren Criss) to slay the fashion designer (Édgar Ramírez, with Penélope Cruz, pictured, as his sister, Donatella) in 1997, is a fascinating study of a total psycho who loved cheesy dance music and should appeal to fans of, well, American Psycho.
‘American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace’
FX Ryan Murphy’s Versace elegy got more moving as it went along, with a truly empathetic eye for the ugly details of grief. Edgar Ramirez is intense as the martyred designer, but did anyone predict that one of the year’s most poignant TV performances would come from Ricky Martin, as Versace’s boyfriend? Or that Judith Light could turn a brief role into such a heartbreaker? (The widow’s question – “Am I a real wife now?” – speaks for both her character and Martin’s.) And the music – wow. All year long, you’re going to hear tipsy strangers in the karaoke bar mangle Ultravox’s New Wave torch ballad “Vienna,” and this is why.
9. American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
Ok, so American Crime Story technically started before 2018, but since it’s an anthology it’s probably OK to put this one down as a “new” show. Versace had the hard task of following the lauded People vs. OJ Simpson season and moved with that momentum, with standout performances from Darren Criss as murderer Andrew Cunanan and Penelope Cruz as the iconic Donatella Versace. While the crime itself is literally given in the title, the show’s peek behind Cunanan’s psyche and the drama that followed the murder make for some peak Ryan Murphy excellence.
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