In 2013, at the height of his power, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez . In 2015, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. And, in 2017, he was discovered hanging in his prison sell and pronounced dead an hour later.
The inaugural season of aims to unravel how an auspicious football career went so far off the rails — but, just as importantly to its producers, how massive enterprises like the NFL and NCAA football and the hundred million-plus viewers they court played a role in the tragedy. “We’re trying to talk about our obsession with this national religion of football, while also telling a story about what happens when a complicated and flawed individual intersects with systems of power,” executive producer tells “It’s a stew of things that make it bigger than just a tabloid true crime story. It’s a reflection on us as American consumers.
” But shining any unflattering light on the NFL isn’t exactly easy, notes Simposon and fellow EP . The pair had previously collaborated, under their Color Force banner, with Ryan Murphy on FX anthology ( ). But each of those projects had a bit more space from the events they retold than their sports foray — which has now aired on FX and FX on Hulu.
Speaking earlier in September, Simpson and Jacobson detail what obstacles they had to overcome in telling an authentic NFL story and offered a promising update *** The genesis was both the Spotlight team articles and the podcast. They both had compelling as.