From NFL Star to Convicted Killer: Aaron Hernandez in FX Series

FX has unveiled a trailer for its sports-themed anthology series American Sports Story, focusing on the rise and fall of NFL star Aaron Hernandez. The season, titled American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, features Josh Rivera of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes fame, portraying the life of Hernandez, a promising football talent whose career was marred by a violent temper. “You don’t know the kind of thoughts I have,” Hernandez reflects. “It’s like a demon.”

Hernandez’s journey takes him from the college football fields of the Florida Gators to the NFL’s New England Patriots, bringing with it wealth and fame, but also intense scrutiny. “Wherever you go now, people are watching you,” his father warns. “You can’t make mistakes, Aaron.”

Despite these cautions, Hernandez gets entangled in a criminal underworld. After being called “soft” by another person, Hernandez reacts violently, pointing a gun in their face and challenging them: “Think I’m soft now?” The trailer shows him breaking things in fits of rage and engaging in heavy drug use. “Everything’s OK when I’m playing ball,” he claims, though his actions say otherwise. Eventually, Hernandez’s dangerous behavior catches up with him, leading to his arrest.

This season is based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., and promises to explore multiple aspects of Hernandez’s life, including his identity, family, career, suicide, and their impact on sports and American culture. The series credits Ryan Murphy as an executive producer. The cast also features Patrick Schwarzenegger as Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Norbert Leo Butz as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is set to premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 10/9c on FX, with next-day streaming available on Hulu.

Source: FX