Development
On October 7, 2014, it was announced that FX had ordered a ten-episode season of American Crime Story developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and executive produced by Alexander, Karaszewski, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Falchuk, the latter two of whom co-created such series as Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and Pose. Murphy also directed the pilot episode. Other executive producers are Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Co-executive producers are Anthony Hemingway and D. V. DeVincentis. All ten episodes were expected to be written by Alexander and Karaszewski. The series was previously in development at Fox, but later moved to the company's sibling cable network FX.
A season titled Katrina was announced to be the series' second season, initially said to be using Douglas Brinkley's book The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the primary source material, with Annette Bening cast as Kathleen Blanco, Matthew Broderick as Michael D. Brown, and Dennis Quaid as George W. Bush. However, it was later announced that the source material had changed to Sheri Fink's book Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, and the season would take an unflinching look at the decisions doctors made at Memorial Medical Center. Sarah Paulson was due to star as Dr. Anna Pou, who was on duty at the hospital when Katrina struck. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney B. Vance were set to return after their participation in the first season, but after the source material was changed, only Paulson was set to star, with the other actors such as Bening, Broderick, and Quaid leaving the project. However, it was said the producers would try to find new characters for at least some of those actors already cast.
The so-called Katrina season was originally planned to be the second season of the series, with The Assassination of Gianni Versace following as the third. However, 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 second installment. In early February 2019, John Landgraf acknowledged that the Katrina storyline was cancelled and will not be the subject of any season of the series.
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, following the season about Katrina. The announcement also revealed that English author Tom Rob Smith 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. Following the airing of the first season's finale in April 2016, it was revealed that series creators Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski would not be returning for the second season. However, 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 second installment.
In January 2017, it was announced that a fourth season was in development, to air after Katrina. It was to cover the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal and the ensuing events during Clinton's presidency, based on Jeffrey Toobin's book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President. However, in April 2018, Murphy revealed that the season was scrapped and no longer in development.
On August 6, 2019, it was announced that the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal season was back in development as the third season of the series and that it would be titled Impeachment. The season began production in October 2020, despite the original release date slated as September 27, 2020. Lewinsky herself signed on as a co-producer. Later that month, it was announced that the character of Hillary Clinton would appear in the series, but that she would not have a significant role.
On August 13, 2021, shortly before the premiere of Impeachment, it was announced that a potential fourth season, tentatively entitled Studio 54, was in development. This season would focus on the rise and fall of Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager and their Studio 54 nightclub during the 1970s leading up to Rubell and Schrager's eventual tax fraud conviction. In September 2024, executive producer Brad Simpson stated there are no developments in the production of the season.
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