The long-awaited trailer for FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez has officially been released.
The 10-episode limited series, which is executive produced by Ryan Murphy (The People vs. O.J. Simpson, American Horror Story, Glee), will premiere its first two episodes on Sept. 17.
The show focuses on the life of former Florida Gators and New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, including his crimes, conviction, and eventual death.
“You don’t know what kind of thoughts I have,” we hear Hernandez (Josh Rivera) say at the state of the trailer. “It’s like a demon. What if god made me this way?”
We then see visuals that show his journey from high school football star to Florida Gators phenom to New England Patriots tight end. We see various scenes that show him dealing with the pressure that comes from his fame and lifestyle and how the one place he can feel safe is on the football field.
“Everything’s okay when I’m playing ball,” he says.
In real life, Hernandez won a national title with Florida and played in a Super Bowl with the Patriots. However, his NFL career was cut short when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 2017, after being acquitted of a different double homicide, he was found dead in his cell. His death was ruled a suicide.
Joining Rivera in the cast is Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow, Tammy Blanchard as Terri Hernandez, and Lindsay Mendez as Tanya Singleton. Various notable NFL and college football personalities such as Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Robert Kraft, and Urban Meyer will also be portrayed.
The series is based on the Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. podcast from the Boston Globe and Wondery.
