You could definitely say that we're in the era of the docuseries. Take, for instance, HBO's massive success with The Jinx, and Netflix's even bigger smash with Making a Murderer, which is probably the most written about non-fiction series ever. You could also say that we're in a new era of O.J. Simpson obsession, with the popularity of FX's American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson as high as it is and TV news people nearly losing their minds the day that news broke about a knife allegedlly found at O.J.'s estate recently.
So, if you consider all this, it's not that surprising that another docuseries on Simpson is in the works (yes, there's already one on the way from ESPN). The surprising part is that this docuseries, narrated and produced by Martin Sheen, is about Simpson's innocence. Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent plans to present evidence that Simpson did not commit the brutal murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994. Although Simpson was acquitted of those murders in 1995, it's a testament to how many people still believe in his guilt that a series like this is even relevant.
As The Hollywood Reporterwrites, the series is going to be based on the book O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, written by a Texas private investigator who spent decades compiling "never-before seen evidence" to support his alternative theory of how Brown and Goldman died. That evidence, which he says the LAPD never investigated, reportedly includes a knife the investigator, William C. Dear, believes is the actual murder weapon in the case.
The pitch for the series was reportedly so hot that it touched off a bidding war between networks and streaming services that included Amazon and premium cable, but the winner ended up being Investigation Discovery, known as the murder channel for its true crime programming. They're planning to air the series in the beginning of 2017.
ESPN's O.J.: Made in America is set to premiere its first hour on ABC in June, before the rest of the series airs on ESPN. It could screen in movie theaters even earlier so that ESPN can submit it for Oscar consideration, the Los Angeles Timesreports. In addition, the Esquire network plans to air the real-life Simpson trial as a 12-hour marathon beginning April 3.
