Season 3 of FX's American Crime Story Will Examine the 1997 Murder of Gianni Versace

By Bobby Finger  |  October 18, 2016 | 9:50pm
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The Hurricane Katrina-centric second season of American Crime Story doesn’t even have a teaser poster, but Deadline is already reporting the series has been renewed for a third, which will “examine the shocking July 1997 assassination of legendary designer Gianni Versace,” who was the fifth and final victim of serial killer Andrew Cunanan’s three-month, cross-country murder spree.

In a 1997 Vanity Fair profile written by Maureen Orth (who also wrote the book on which the season is based), some investigators suggest 27-year-old Cunanan’s motive was a combination of “sexual gratification and the extortion of money,” while others claim it was more personal. Cunanan himself was unable to provide much insight into his motives, as he died of suicide just one week after killing Versace.

From Orth’s profile:

“Why would Cunanan go to Chicago, find Miglin, and torture him without some motive?” asks Chisago County investigator Rivard. He wouldn’t, say McCrary and Cronin. “I’d say it’s highly probable that he knew Miglin,” says McCrary. “Would this guy let some stranger in off the street? The answer is no. Either [Cunanan] knew of the guy or knew his son. The idea that he just picked him up off the street and stalked him and tortured him and then killed him is bizarre—not the most likely scenario.”

This story’s combination of murder, mystery, gay men, and glamour makes it seem like the perfect story for Murphy and his extended creative team to handle, and I hope it’s as good as season one. At the very least, I hope he casts Gaga as Gianni’s loving sister, Donatella.

 
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