Aaron Hernandez Falls From Grace in First ‘American Sports Story’ Trailer

The Big Picture

FX teases
American Sports Story
Season 1, focusing on NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s rise and fall.
The series will highlight Hernandez’s life, from his NFL success to his eventual tragic end.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez
premieres September 17, with an impressive cast and executive producing team.

FX has released the very first teaser of American Sports Story Season 1, and it’s every bit as unsettling as imagined. The sports anthology, which highlights NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez’s stunning fall from grace, was announced last year as an extension of Ryan Murphy’s acclaimed American Story franchise. Additionally, a premiere date has already been set for the new series, which now serves as the fourth installment in the franchise, following American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and American Horror Stories.

Developed by Stu Zicherman (Alaska Daily), American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez will provide a tragic account of Hernandez’s rise and fall, based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. from The Boston Globe and Wondery. The anthology, comprising eight to ten episodes, will explore every part of the fallen icon’s life, including his identity, his family, his sports legacy, and his suicide in prison at the age of 27.

As fans already know, Hernandez’s success began as a tight end at the University of Florida and the New England Patriots but was only shortlived as he received a life sentence in 2015 following the murder of Odin Lloyd. This will be highlighted in the upcoming series alongside the 2012 double homicide accusation involving Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu. Hernandez was eventually cleared of the crime, but days later, he committed suicide.

The Team Behind ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’

Leading American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez as the titular character is Josh Andrés Rivera (The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), who will star beside Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) as Hernandez’s former teammate, quarterback Tim Tebow. Other actors on board the project include Tony Yazbeck (Billions) as University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer, Jake Cannavale (The Offer) as one of Hernandez’s love interests, and Lindsay Mendez (Station 19) as Hernandez’s cousin and confidant, Tanya Singleton.

Zicherman executive produces American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez alongside Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Others in the executive producing team are Nina Jacobson (The Hunger Games), Brad Simpson (American Crime Story), Alexis Martin Woodall (American Crime Story), Scott Robertson (Dahmer), Marshall Lewy (Project Greenlight), Eric Kovtun, Hernan Lopez, Linda Pizutti Henry, and Ira Napoliello.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez will premiere on September 17, but in the meantime, feel free to stream the latest American Story production, American Horror Stories, on Hulu. Stay tuned to Collider for future information ahead of the sports anthology’s arrival.