Ryan Murphy’s upcoming season of American Crime Story will focus on the assassination of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace. By the looks of it, it has everything you should need in a television show: Edgar Ramirez getting the chance to show his acting chops as a balding yet fabulous Gianni; Penelope Cruz rocking a platinum blonde wig to play his sister, the inimitable Donatella Versace; and Ricky Martin returning to TV to show off his talent (and body) as the designer’s longtime lover Antonio D’Amico. What more could you possibly need?
The series is not coming to our TV screens for several months, but Entertainment Weekly unveiled in its most recent cover story, a slew of images from the set of the FX show. And as if the promise of seeing the “Livin’ la vida loca” singer sporting a tiny speedo or gawking at a pair of ripped models surrounding the Spanish Oscar winner (Penelope) wasn’t enough, EW also got a chance to sit down with the cast to talk about why they joined Murphy in this followup to the buzzy People vs OJ Simpson.
For Cruz, the thrill of taking this role came from working with the always daring Murphy. That’s not to say she wasn’t nervous about taking on a character based on such a well-known real life person — and one she knows personally. In a video shared alongside the sexy EW cover, the cast also dished on what it was like shooting at Versace’s actual Miami home, Casa Casuarina.
Martin shared that it all added to the authenticity of the storytelling. “You walk into the rooms and you can sense the story behind it,” he said. That story, of course, became a tabloid sensation when the famed designer was shot by Andrew Cunanan (played by Glee‘s Darren Criss) at the foot of the stairs of Casa Casuarina on July 15, 1997. It’s the kind of juicy, lurid tale ready to get the Ryan “American Horror Story/FEUD/Scream Queens” Murphy treatment. As Ramirez puts it, “It has sex. It has politics. It has history. It has violence, sensuality, beauty, design, fashion.” We should probably begin notching the many Emmy nominations the show will garner once it premieres next year. In the meantime, check out the full behind-the-scenes video below.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story will premiere in early 2018 on FX.