'American Crime Story' to explore Clinton impeachment in Season 3

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- American Crime Story will explore president Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in its upcoming third season.

FX confirmed plans Tuesday at the Television Critics Association press tour for American Crime Story: Impeachment, which will premiere Sept. 27, 2020, amid the 2020 presidential election season.

Impeachment is based on the Jeffrey Toobin book A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President. The season will focus on the women involved in Clinton's impeachment proceedings.

Beanie Feldstein will star as Monica Lewinsky, with Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp and Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones. Sarah Burgess will write and executive produce the series, with Lewinsky herself serving as a producer.

"This franchise re-examines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced and entertaining," FX CEO John Landgraf said in a press release. "Impeachment: American Crime Story will likewise explore the overlooked dimensions of the women who found themselves caught up in the scandal and political war that cast a long shadow over the Clinton presidency."

At the press tour, Landgraf defended the network's decision to air Impeachment shortly before the 2020 election. The timing has already raised concerns the show could influence the outcome of the election.

"Let me just say something about the current environment. So this person knows what the show is, knows how the audience is going to respond to it, knows how it's going to impact history, right?" Landgraf said of critics. "This certainty that says, 'We can't have conversations, we can't make art, we can't have nuance, I won't even wait to pronounce judgment on it,' is toxic in the media environment."

"I've read it, I think it's great," he added. "I don't believe it's going to determine who is the next president of the United States."

American Crime Story previously explored O.J. Simpson's murder trial in Season 1 and Gianni Versace's assassination in Season 2.