The second season of ''

American Crime Story ''American Crime Story'' is an American biographical crime drama anthology television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are also executive producers, alongside Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Bra ...

'', titled ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'', examines the July 1997 assassination of legendary fashion designer

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

by sociopathic

spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...

Andrew Cunanan Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer who murdered five people over three months from April 27 to July 15, 1997. His victims include Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real est ...

. It is based on

Maureen Orth Maureen Orth (born 1943) is an American journalist, author, and a Special Correspondent for '' Vanity Fair'' magazine. She is the founder of Marina Orth Foundation, which has established a model education program in Colombia emphasizing technolog ...

's book ''Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History'', and was developed by

Tom Rob Smith Tom Rob Smith (born February 19, 1979) is an English author, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the author of Child 44, a novel about the investigation of child murders during the Soviet Union. The book was adapted into a film of th ...

, after the departure of series creators

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Scott Alexander (born June 16, 1963) and Larry Karaszewski (; born November 20, 1961) are an American screenwriting duo, recognized for their unique approach to biopics. They introduced the term "anti-biopic" to describe their distinctive styl ...

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

network FX confirmed in October 2016 a season about Versace's murder, which would be the series' third, following an installment about

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. The story about Katrina was eventually cancelled and ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' took over as second season, with filming taking place from May to November 2017. Comprising nine episodes, it was broadcast between January 17 and March 21, 2018. The

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

includes

Édgar Ramírez Édgar Filiberto Ramírez Arellano (, born 25 March 1977) is a Venezuelan actor. After studying communications at the Andrés Bello Catholic University, Ramírez worked in media and considered becoming a diplomat. When filmmaker Guillermo ...

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2010–2015) and received a Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award and ...

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

, and

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a David di Donatello and three Goya Awards. Cru ...

. ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' received positive reviews from critics, with praise for most of the performances (particularly from Criss). Among its awards, the season won the

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series, due to its treatment of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

characters and themes. It also won seven

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, two

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

, three

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

, and two

Critics' Choice Television Awards The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...

. Criss won six out of nine nominations for his performance in the season.

Cast

Main

Antonio D'Amico Antonio D'Amico (20 January 1959 – 6 December 2022) was an Italian fashion designer and model. Biography D'Amico was born in Mesagne, in the Italian province of Brindisi, and later lived in Milan. He was hired as a part-time office admini ...

Donatella Versace Donatella Francesca Versace (; born 2 May 1955), sometimes simply referred to mononymously as Donatella, is an Italian fashion designer, businesswoman, socialite, and model. She is the sister of Gianni Versace, founder of the luxury fashion com ...

Special guest stars

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...

as Marilyn Miglin *

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often d ...

as Bar Singer *

Finn Wittrock Peter L. Wittrock Jr. (born October 28, 1984), known professionally as Finn Wittrock, is an American actor who began his career in guest roles on several television shows. He made his film debut in 2004, in '' Halloweentown High'' before returning ...

as Jeffrey "Jeff" Trail

Recurring

* Joanna P. Adler as Mary Ann Cunanan *

Joe Adler Joe Adler is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Zart in ''The Maze Runner'' and Jason Wylie in ''The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, unt ...

as Jerome Gentes *

Annaleigh Ashford Annaleigh Ashford (née Swanson; born June 25, 1985) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her early roles on Broadway include in the musicals '' Wicked'' (2007), '' Legally Blonde'' (2007), and ''Hair'' (2010). She received the Tony Award ...

as Elizabeth Cote *

Jon Jon Briones Ernesto Cloma Briones Jr. (born August 7, 1965), known as Jon Jon Briones, is a Filipino-American actor best known for his work in musical theatre. He played the Engineer in the original casts in the West End revival of ''Miss Saigon'' in 2014, ...

as Modesto Cunanan *

Will Chase Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's ''Nashville''. Early life and education Chase was born i ...

as Det. Paul Scrimshaw * Giovanni Cirfiera as

Santo Versace Santo Domenico Versace (; born 16 December 1944) is an Italian businessman and politician who is the president and co-chief executive officer of Gianni Versace SpA, based in Milan, Italy. Since 2008 he has been elected as Member of the Chambe ...

Mike Farrell Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series '' M*A*S*H'' (1975–83). In addition, Farrell was a producer of '' Patch Adams'' (1998) starr ...

as Lee Miglin * Jay R. Ferguson as Agent Keith Evans *

Cody Fern Cody Fern (born 6 July 1988) is an Australian actor and director. Following his feature debut in '' The Tribes of Palos Verdes'' (2017), he portrayed murder victim David Madson in the FX series '' The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American ...

as David Madson *

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor and author. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Pri ...

as Ronnie Holston *

Sophie von Haselberg Sophie von Haselberg (born November 14, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for co-starring in Woody Allen's 2015 film ''Irrational Man (film), Irrational Man'', alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. Other notable roles have bee ...

as Linda Elwell * Edouard Holdener as Young Andrew Cunanan * Christine Horn as Agent Talarah Gruber * John Lacy as Howard Madson *

Cathy Moriarty Cathy Moriarty (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress whose career spans five decades. Born and raised in New York City, she made her acting debut opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's ''Raging Bull'' (1980), for which she recei ...

as Vivian Oliva *

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on '' The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

as Norman Blachford *

Dascha Polanco Dascha Yolaine Polanco (born December 3, 1982) is a Dominican actress. She is known for portraying the role of Dayanara "Daya" Diaz on the Netflix series ''Orange Is the New Black'', and for the role of Cuca in the 2021 film ''In the Heights (fil ...

as Det. Lori Wieder *

Terry Sweeney Terry Sweeney is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He was a writer and cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1980s, co-wrote the 1989 film ''Shag'', and has written for the television ''series MADtv'', '' Hype'', and '' Tripping ...

as David Gallo * José Zúñiga as Det. George Navarro

Guest

Episodes

Production

Development

''The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story'' was picked up on October 18, 2016, and was announced as the third season of the

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

, following the season about ''Katrina''. The announcement also revealed that English author

would be the writer of multiple episodes of the season, including the first two, while executive producer Ryan Murphy would be directing the

season premiere A season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a returning television show. In the United States, many season premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. In countries su ...

. Following the airing of the first season's finale in April 2016, it was revealed that series creators

would not be returning for the second season. In June 2017, it was announced that ''Katrina'' would not begin production until early 2018 and that ''Versace'' would air in early 2018, replacing ''Katrina'' as the show's official second installment. On October 2, 2017, ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' actor

Matt Bomer Matthew Staton Bomer ( ; born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. His works have earned him accolades including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bomer m ...

was announced as the director of the eighth episode, making it his directorial debut. During its production, the working title of the season was ''American Crime Story: Versace/Cunanan''. In December 2017, after the first public screening, it was revealed that ''Versace'' would have nine episodes, despite being originally reported to consist of ten episodes.

Casting

In February 2017,

and

joined the cast of ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' as

and

, respectively. Murphy confirmed the reports announcing

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

would portray

in ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' were false;

was later cast in the role. In April 2017, it was announced that

was joining the cast of ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' as

, Versace's longtime partner. On April 28, 2017,

was seen filming on the set of ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'' with Criss. On June 21, 2017, it was announced through ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' that Ashford's role in the series would be as Elizabeth Cote, a friend of Cunanan's since high school, while

Nico Evers-Swindell Nico Thomas Evers-Swindell is a New Zealand actor who portrayed Prince William in the 2011 Lifetime original film '' William & Kate''. Previous roles include minor appearances in the 2010 film ''Edge of Darkness'' and the television crime drama ' ...

would play her husband, Philip Merrill. On May 5, 2017, Murphy announced via his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account that

joined the casting, by publishing a photo of Greenfield and Criss on the set. On June 21, 2017, it was announced that

will star in ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'', playing Jeffrey Trail, Cunanan's first victim. In November 2017, the official Twitter account for the series revealed that

and

are part of the cast. In December 2017, the official webpage for the series released cast and character bios revealing that Max Greenfield would play Ronnie, whilst confirming the casting of Judith Light as Marilyn Miglin,

as Detective Lori Wieder,

as Modesto Cunanan,

as David Madson, and

as Lee Miglin.

Filming

According to multiple set reports and photos,

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

of season 2 took place at the beginning of May 2017, in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

. As revealed by

via his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account, shooting ended during the week of November 13.

Promotion

In September 2017, FX released the first promotional teaser for ''The Assassination of Gianni Versace'', showing doves sitting outside Versace's former

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

and flying away when two gunshots ring out. A second teaser was released that same month, depicting Versace's sister Donatella placing flowers on a casket. In October, a third teaser was released, depicting some

police radio Police radio is a radio system used by police and other law enforcement agencies to communicate with one another. Police radio systems almost always use two-way radio systems to allow for communications between police officers and dispatchers. ...

communications as a black clothes cover, with the name Versace on it, is being closed. The same month, a fourth teaser was released, showing Donatella kissing the stairs where Gianni was murdered, before entering in his mansion. On

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

day, FX aired a new promotional video during a commercial break of the ninth episode of '' American Horror Story: Cult'', which announced that the season would premiere on January 17, 2018. In November 2017, four new teasers were released. The first showed Versace relaxing next to his pool, as Cunanan comes out of it. The second depicts D'Amico leaving Gianni's house, as he hears two gunshots (the unseen murder) and runs to see what happened; while a

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

by Ricky Martin as D'Amico says that he was Gianni's partner and lover. The third shows Donatella and Gianni hugging and watching themselves in front of a mirror, as the latter tells his sister that she would be Versace without him. The fourth depicts a running

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

, which ends up having some issues and not being able to finish its work. On November 15, 2017, the first full trailer for the season was released via the Twitter account of the series. It shows moments from Cunanan's unstable past and the first aftermaths of Versace's assassination. The same day, it was announced that the first episode of the season would be available five days before the official premiere for FX+ subscribers. On November 28, 2017, FX released a new short trailer depicting the main cast of the season: Cruz, Ramírez, Martin and Criss; while a voice-over by Criss as Cunanan reveals how he feels the same as Versace. In December 2017, more teasers were released. The first opposed Versace and Cunanan as they speak about themselves and their pasts. The second featured a Versace fashion show where models start crying, as news reports about the designer's death are heard. The third showed Cunanan trying to convince someone that he really has a date with Versace, while the scene is being cut by shots of the assassination and its aftermaths. The fourth one features Donatella Versace in a black dress for her brother's funeral; the fifth showed different rooms of Versace's mansion, with multiple voice-overs by different characters; and the sixth featured a showering Cunanan, surrounding his face with duct tape, as

's Ronnie asks him what he is doing. On December 28, a first look at the series was released, with interviews from the crew and the cast. That same day, a new teaser was also released, depicting Criss-as-Cunanan about to kill his sexual partner and then Versace. At the start of January 2018, a new teaser was released. It featured Criss-as-Cunanan changing the

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

of his car and greeting a young girl, while a voice-over is saying that the police are looking for him and that he is very dangerous. On January 16, 2018, the full red band trailer was released, and a short version premiered the next day.

Reception

Reviews

The second season of ''American Crime Story'' received generally positive reviews from critics. The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

gave the season an approval rating of 88% based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Assassination of Versace'' starts with a bang and unfurls slowly, moving backward through an intricate (and occasionally convoluted) murder mystery anchored by a career-defining performance from Darren Criss." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the season has a score of 74 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Reaction from individuals involved

In January 2018, the

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury elite fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as '' haute couture'' under it ...

family released a statement criticizing the series. They explained they have "neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever" in the production of the season, before adding that it "should only be considered as a work of fiction." Executive producer Ryan Murphy answered that the series was "not a work of fiction" as it is based on a non-fiction book,

's ''Vulgar Favors'', and that the production team and FX stand by the author and her work. Comparing it to '' The People v. O. J. Simpson'', Murphy added that the season is "a work of non-fiction obviously with docudrama elements," and not a documentary. Following this answer, the Versace family released a second statement, still slamming the series as "a work of fiction" because "the Orth book itself is full of gossip and speculation." They also heavily criticized Orth's work, calling it an "effort to create a sensational story" with "second-hand hearsay that is full of contradictions." They gave the example of

's medical condition, as Orth claims that Versace was

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

positive Positive is a property of positivity and may refer to: Mathematics and science * Positive formula, a logical formula not containing negation * Positive number, a number that is greater than 0 * Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a positi ...

at the time of his death.

also criticized the series, deeming some scenes as "ridiculous" and insisting that "so much has been fictionalized". He also revealed that he does not plan to watch it, but that he would have been happy if

, who plays his role, got in contact to get some insight into his relationship with Versace. According to Ryan Murphy,

was very supportive that

played her role. As Cruz and Versace are friends, Murphy explained that, when he offered her the role, Cruz asked the permission of Versace before agreeing to do it. He also revealed that, while Cruz was representing the series at the

75th Golden Globe Awards The 75th Golden Globe Awards honored film and American television of 2017, and was broadcast live on January 7, 2018, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST / 8:00 p.m. Easter ...

, Versace "very graciously sent era lovely and huge flower arrangement saying 'good luck.'"

Ratings

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, The 2018 American television seasons 2018 American television series debuts 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American LGBTQ-related drama television series 02 American English-language television shows Fashion-themed television series Fictional portrayals of the Chicago Police Department Fictional portrayals of the Miami-Dade Police Department Gay-related television shows GLAAD Media Award–winning shows Television series set in the 1990s Television shows about serial killers Television shows about suicide Films about stalking Television shows based on books Television shows about death Television series set in 1990 Television series set in 1992 Television series set in 1994 Television series set in 1995 Television series set in 1996 Television series set in 1997 Television shows set in Chicago Television shows set in Manila Television shows set in Miami Television shows set in Minnesota Television shows set in San Diego Television shows set in San Francisco True crime television series Versace Cultural depictions of fashion designers Works about assassinations in the United States 2018 LGBTQ-related television