The highly anticipated second installment of Ryan Murphy's anthology series American Crime Story, titled The Assassination of Gianni Versace, is slated to premiere in the UK on BBC in early 2018.
I've been impatiently awaiting the premiere since the moment it was announced, but now that the official trailer has dropped I seriously cannot contain my excitement.
The trailer, which clocks in at just over one minute, gives us our first glimpse of Edgar Ramirez as Versace, Darren Criss as serial killer Andrew Cunanan, and Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace. In addition to plenty of action-packed footage, press conferences about Versace's murder, and chilling dialogue from Cunanan, the trailer provides a glimpse into the prominent role Cruz will play as the designer's devastated sister.
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"He was a creator, he was a genius. Everything you see around us — this house, this company — was his life. I will not allow that man, that nobody, to kill my brother twice," she declares during what's arguably the most emotional moment of the trailer.
Watch the entire clip here and be prepared to be on the edge of your seat:
In August, Murphy told reporters that the show is about far more than Versace's murder. It's also an exploration of the role homophobia played in Cunanan's 1997 killing spree. "We're trying to talk about a crime within a social idea," Murphy explained, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "Versace, who was [Andrew Cunanan's] last victim, did not have to die. One of the reasons he was able to make his way across the country and pick off these victims, many of whom were gay, was because of homophobia at the time."
Murphy also noted that, because Cunanan's victims were openly gay men, the threat he posed to the community wasn't taken seriously enough. For example, at the time of Versace's murder, he was on the FBI's most-wanted list and was believed to be living in South Florida, but Miami police refused to put up "wanted" posters that could have potentially saved lives.
And although Versace's name is in the title, Cunanan's other victims will also be spotlighted. "We really get to examine the victims," Murphy said during the TCA summer press tour. "In many ways, we're trying to bring to life and celebrate those people that Andrew Cunanan snuffed out."
Based on the trailer, the second installment of American Crime Story will be just as impactful as the first.
Watch this space for more details on how to view The Assassination of Gianni Versace on the BBC.
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