Impeachment: American Crime Story, the upcoming third season of the American Crime Story FX anthology series, is here to set the record straight as the first full-length trailer debuted on Thursday. Detailing the rise and fall of a beloved President and the twenty-two year old intern who helped crumble his very reputation, the series stars Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart) as Monica Lewinsky, Clive Owen (Lisey’s Story) as President Bill Clinton, and Sarah Paulson (Ratched) as Linda Tripp, via Entertainment Weekly.
Everything screams the nineties in the first Impeachment: American Crime Story trailer, with boxy suits, Rachel haircuts, and bold colors. Telling the incredible true story of the Lewinsky/Clinton Scandal, in which twenty-two year old White House Intern Lewinsky began a relationship with President Clinton in 1995, the affair was brought to the public’s attention in 1998 through her White House co-worker, Tripp. Posing as a close friend and confidant to Lewinsky, Tripp was secretly recording their phone conversations while Lewinsky disclosed intimate details of her relationship with the President. It resulted in one of the biggest scandals throughout the twentieth century and sent a media frenzy after Lewinsky.
The trailer reveals shocking transformations as the various actors disappear into their infamous roles. Owen is identical to President Clinton, with him even stating the famous line: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” in the trailer. Eddie Falco (The Sopranos) appears as Hilary Clinton, dressed to the nines in a blue power suit, alongside snapshots of Billy Eichner (American Horror Story) as Matt Drudge, the notorious reporter who ran the website The Drudge Report, which covered all the news surrounding the affair. Also spotted is Colbie Smulders (Stumptown), who replaced Betty Gilpin (Glow) as Ann Coulter, who famously wrote a book about the scandal, titled High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton.
Also featured in the series will be Margo Martindale (Mrs. America) as Lucianne Goldberg, Anthony Green (London’s Burning) as Al Gore, Colin Hanks (Fargo) in an as-of-yet announced role, and Annaleigh Ashford (B Positive) as Paula Jones, the woman who sued President Clinton for sexual harassment. Ashford is nearly unrecognizable for the brief moment she appears in the trailer, and the series will reportedly be told from the perspective of the three leading ladies; Lewinsky, Tripp and Jones.
The series hails from Ryan Murphy (Glee, Ratched), who co-executive produces alongside Paulson, Brad Falchuk (Scream Queens, The Politician), Nina Jacobson (The Hunger Games), Brad Simpson (The People vs. O.J Simpson: American Crime Story), Larry Karaszewski (Big Eyes), Scott Alexander (Man on the Moon), Alexis Martin Woodall (American Horror Story), and series writer Sarah Burgess (American Crime Story: The Assasination of Gianni Versace). Lewinsky herself also executive produces and was heavily involved throughout the entire production.
The series will premiere on FX, Tuesday, September 7. Watch the full length trailer for Impeachment: American Crime Story below: