Ryan Murphy is plotting the first season of his new anthology series American Sports Story, and he finally found his leads. Josh Andrés Rivera and Patrick Schwarzenegger were cast as the NFL stars Aaron Hernandez and Tim Tebow in the show’s upcoming first season.
American Sports Story will focus on retelling prominent events involving high-profile sports figures and re-examining them through the lens of today’s world. It’s the offshoot of Muprhy’s American Story franchise, which also includes American Horror Story, American Crime Story, and a newly announced American Love Story.
The first season of this series draws inspiration from the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. launched by The Boston Globe and Wondery. FX chairman John Landgraf previously revealed that the series is “heading toward production” after Stu Zicherman came close to completing the scripts.
American Sports Story will mark the second collaboration between Murphy and Schwarzenegger, who previously starred in his series Scream Queens. He most recently appeared in The Boys spinoff Gen V, which has been renewed for the second season.
As for Josh Andrés Rivera, his filmography includes small roles in West Side Story and Cat Person, and he’ll soon star in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
