Menendez Brothers to Get O.J. Treatment in Dick Wolf Anthology Series
Like O.J. Simpson before them, the Menendez Brothers are getting their own courtroom anthology series. NBC is pairing with Law & Order creator Dick Wolf for a project following a different true crime story each season.
First up is the trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez, Beverly Hills brothers, who were sentenced to life without parole for the 1994 murder of their parents. Coming hot off the heels of the huge success of FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the first season of NBC’s show will be fittingly titled Law & Order: True Crime - The Menendez Brothers.
Back in January, American Crime Story picked their followup to O.— the Hurricane Katrina disaster — so we’d like to offer NBC some options for Season 2 of Law & Order: True Crime:
Ted Bundy: The serial killer of 30-plus people died in the electric chair in 1989, but not before turning several courtrooms into media circuses: He represented himself, got legally married while questioning a witness, and once escaped from a law library while he was supposed to be doing research on his own case.
George Zimmerman: The neighborhood watch coordinator gunned down African-American high school student Trayvon Martin and was later found not guilty due to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law. The trial led to a national discussion of law enforcement’s treatment of non-white Americans that is still ongoing.
Casey Anthony: The young Florida mother was accused and unsuccessfully tried for the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee. When Casey was found not guilty, public outrage overflowed for the justice system and for the tactics of Anthony’s defense team.
Kitty Genovese: Stabbed to death outside her New York City apartment in front of an estimated 37 witnesses — none of whom alerted the police — her death began an inquiry into the bystander effect, or “Genovese Syndrome.”
The D.C. Snipers: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo had the Washington, D.C. beltway living in constant fear in October 2002, as they shot and killed 17 people and wounded 10 others.
So what do you think: What true crime story should the series focus on next? Let us know in the comments below.
And watch Yahoo TV’s interview with John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., the stars of The People v. O.J. Simpson: