I had completely forgotten that Ryan Murphy’s American franchise was expanding with a new pair of spin-offs, and the first is finally moving forward. American Sports Story will focus on Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots player who was found guilty of murder and later killed himself. THR reports that Jose Andrés Rivera has been tapped to star as Aaron Hernandez in American Sports Story. Deadline added that Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) has also joined the cast as Tim Tebow.
American Sports Story will be based on the Boston Globe and Wondery podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., and will be scripted by Stu Zicherman (The Americans). The season will chart “the rise and fall of the former New England Patriots tight end who was convicted for murder and ultimately took his own life. Thematically, it will explore the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture.“
Jose Andrés Rivera is set to star alongside Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. He plays Sejanus Plinth, a classmate and close friend of Coriolanus Snow. Rivera also played Chino in Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story.
Along with American Sports Story, Ryan Murphy has another spin-off in the works with American Love Story. The first season of that series is expected to follow the courtship and marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.
“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,” FX CEO John Landgraf said when the spin-offs were first announced. “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.“
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will hit theaters on November 17th.
