In its inaugural season, Ryan Murphy’s new sports-themed anthology American Sports Story is tackling an infamous NFL tale: the rise and fall of Patriots star tight end Aaron Hernandez.
FX has released a trailer for the season, titled American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, with Josh Rivera (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) starring as Hernandez, a highly touted football prospect whose bright future is threatened by his violent temper. “You don’t know the kind of thoughts I have,” he muses. “It’s like a demon.” His talents on the gridiron take him to the Florida Gators for college and then the NFL’s New England Patriots, but the riches and fame bring a new level of scrutiny, too. “Wherever you go now, people are watching you,” his father warns. “You can’t make mistakes, Aaron.”
More from TVLine
But despite the warning, Aaron gets drawn into a criminal underworld. When another guy scoffs that he’s “soft,” Aaron points a gun in his face and challenges him: “Think I’m soft now?” We see him break things in a rage and fall into heavy drug use, but “everything’s OK when I’m playing ball,” he insists. Things aren’t OK, though, when he points a gun at the wrong person — and ends up getting hauled away by the cops in handcuffs.
Based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., this season of American Sports Story “explores the disparate strands of [Hernandez’s] identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture,” per the official description. Murphy serves as an executive producer; the cast also includes Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) as Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Norbert Leo Butz (Justified: City Primeval) as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 10/9c on FX and will stream next-day on Hulu. Press PLAY above to get a sneak peek, and then hit the comments below to share your first impressions.
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
Lamar Jackson will find out next month if he wins the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award for the third time, but he appears to be on his way. Writers
The first-round NFL Draft order for April 24 is almost set. Four more teams were eliminated from the 2025 playoffs in the divisiona
MVP votes have already been cast so Allen and Jackson knew Sunday's game would have no bearing on the winner. This was about their legacy.They have been two of
Two-Minute Drill: Bucs host wild card game, Jags' first owner turn 90The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday