American Sports Story Trailer: Aaron Hernandez Goes From NFL Star to Convicted Killer in FX Limited Series
In its inaugural season, Ryan Murphy’s new sports-themed anthology American Sports Story is tackling an infamous NFL tale: the rise and fall of Patriots star tight end Aaron Hernandez.
FX has released a trailer for the season, titled American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, with Josh Rivera (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) starring as Hernandez, a highly touted football prospect whose bright future is threatened by his violent temper. “You don’t know the kind of thoughts I have,” he muses. “It’s like a demon.” His talents on the gridiron take him to the Florida Gators for college and then the NFL’s New England Patriots, but the riches and fame bring a new level of scrutiny, too. “Wherever you go now, people are watching you,” his father warns. “You can’t make mistakes, Aaron.”
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But despite the warning, Aaron gets drawn into a criminal underworld. When another guy scoffs that he’s “soft,” Aaron points a gun in his face and challenges him: “Think I’m soft now?” We see him break things in a rage and fall into heavy drug use, but “everything’s OK when I’m playing ball,” he insists. Things aren’t OK, though, when he points a gun at the wrong person — and ends up getting hauled away by the cops in handcuffs.
Based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., this season of American Sports Story “explores the disparate strands of [Hernandez’s] identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture,” per the official description. Murphy serves as an executive producer; the cast also includes Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) as Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Norbert Leo Butz (Justified: City Primeval) as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 10/9c on FX and will stream next-day on Hulu. Press PLAY above to get a sneak peek, and then hit the comments below to share your first impressions.
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