FX's Final Episode in Ryan Murphy's Series American History franchising, American Sports History: Aaron Hernandez, is ready to hit TV screens. The 10-episode limited series follows the real-life rise and fall of disgraced former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez.
The show, which stars Josh Andrés Rivera as Hernandez, is based on The Boston Globe AND Wonder podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football IncThe podcast delved into Hernandez’s life and career, as well as his arrest, subsequent conviction for murder, and death by suicide in a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts.
In June 2013, authorities discovered the body of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, who had been dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, about a mile from the then-football player’s home. Just nine days later, Hernandez was arrested on a murder charge in connection with Lloyd’s death at his North Attleborough, Mass., mansion and led from the home in handcuffs.
Hernandez was released by the Patriots within hours. He pleaded not guilty to the charges but was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder in 2015.
In May 2014, nearly a year after his arrest on charges related to Lloyd's murder, Hernandez was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, along with other related charges, in connection with the 2012 fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
According to the Associated Press, the couple was shot to death in their car at a red light in Boston's South End neighborhood. The AP reported that prosecutors said Hernandez, who went on trial in February 2017, was angry that de Abreu had accidentally bumped into him at a nightclub while dancing, spilling his drink. However, Hernandez's lawyers have maintained that he is innocent. Hernandez was acquitted of murder in the killings of de Abreu and Furtado on April 14, 2017.
A few days after being acquitted in that case, on April 19, 2017, Hernandez was found hanging from a bedsheet in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison in Leominster, Massachusetts. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Boston Globe reported that Hernandez and another inmate had smoked K2 in the former football player's cell. The newspaper described the drug as “similar to marijuana but more toxic: plants sprayed with chemicals that can cause hallucinations and are difficult to detect on drug tests.”
Hernandez, a former University of Florida football player, was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2010. The former tight end was reportedly someone to watch in the locker room. According to The Boston GlobeFormer NFL player Wes Welker warned former Patriots receiver Brandon Lloyd about Hernandez's behavior.
“He looks at me with his eyes wide open,” Lloyd recalled to Gladiator podcast. “And he says, 'I just want to warn you that [Hernandez] He’ll talk about being washed by his mother. He’ll show you his genitals while you’re sitting on the stool. He’ll talk about gay sex. Do your best to ignore him. Even to walk away.'”
The podcast of which American Sports History: Aaron Hernandez It is based on various aspects of Hernandez's life, including his childhood and the abuse he and his brother suffered during childhood, along with Hernandez's difficulties with his sexuality and how he manifested the symptoms of CTE.
The series will follow the rise and fall of the former New England Patriots tight end. Thematically, it will explore the different strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide, and their legacy in sports and American culture.
American Sports History expands Murphy's five series American History anthology franchise, which also includes 12 flagship seasons American Horror Storythree seasons of Story of an American Crimethree seasons of American Horror Stories and the next spin-off American Love Storywhich will chronicle the whirlwind courtship and marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. A potential fourth season of Story of an American Crimetitled Studio 54is under development.
American Sports History will re-examine a major event involving a sports figure through the prism of today's world and tell the story from multiple perspectives. This season's script is by Stu Zicherman (The Americans), who executive produce alongside Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery, and THE The Boston Globe Linda Pizutti Henry and Ira Napoliello.
American Sports History: Aaron Hernandez debuts with two episodes on FX at 10 p.m. on September 17. The series will also stream on Hulu.