BBC2 are to air a new US series starring Cuba Gooding Jr, John Travolta and David Schwimmer based on the notorious OJ Simpson court case.

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The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story focuses on the legal wrangling going on behind the scenes of one of the most famous trials of all time, with American football star Simpson accused of double homicide.

Cuba Gooding Jr stars as OJ Simpson, with John Travolta and David Schwimmer playing defence attorneys Robert Shapiro and Robert Kardashian in the ten-part series.

Sarah Paulson plays prosecutor Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance appears as defence attorney Johnnie Cochran, and Bruce Greenwood as Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti.

The series is set to air in the US on 2nd February on channel FX, with a release on BBC2 to follow.

“I am so excited for BBC viewers to see this series," said Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition. "The People v OJ Simpson is a fascinating and totally absorbing dramatisation of a case seared into the public consciousness. It is a case that you might think you know all about – but believe me, you don't know the half of it …”

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The series is written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karazewski, the team that created 1996 biopic The People vs Larry Flynt starring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love and Edward Norton, and executive produced by Ryan Murphy – creator of Glee, Scream Queens and American Horror Story.

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