She's baaack! Lewinsky produces "American Crime Story" on Clinton impeachment

Just in time for the 2020 presidential election, the third season of American Crime Story is in the works. Guess what the storyline is for the new season? It’s the Clinton impeachment saga, that’s what. And, as a bonus, Monica Lewinsky is listed as a producer. The title is Impeachment: American Crime Story.

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The series is on the FX channel and has a large following for true crime buffs. Past seasons included “The People v. O.J. Simpson” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” A perfect example of the intersection of politics and culture will be offered up just before the 2020 presidential election – remember that time when the House of Representatives impeached President Clinton?

Production of the series is set for February 2020 and the season premiere will be Sunday, September 27, 2020. With the presidential election on November 3, 2020, the timeframe is convenient. The election will be front and center daily in the news and the impeachment of a past president is a natural connection. Given that it was former President Clinton’s wife that President Trump beat in 2016, well, it’s all very 2019, isn’t it?

Sarah Paulson, who won an Emmy for her performance as Marcia Clark in the O.J. story has signed on to play Linda Tripp. So far, the role of Bill Clinton hasn’t been cast. The FX series is based on a Jeffrey Toobin book, “A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President”. Toobin’s 1997 book on the O.J. Simpson case was used as the basis of the first season story on him. Toobin is a liberal lawyer who is frequently seen on CNN criticizing President Trump and his administration.

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FX Networks and Productions chairman John Landgraf made the news official Tuesday during the network’s TCA session.

“FX’s American Crime Story franchise has become a cultural touchstone, providing greater context for stories that deserve greater understanding like the O.J. Simpson trial and saga, and Andrew Cunanan’s tragic crime spree which concluded with the assassination of Gianni Versace,” said Landgraf. “This franchise re-examines some of the most complicated, polarizing stories in recent history in a way that is relevant, nuanced and entertaining.

I think it may be interesting to watch how the story now fits into the #MeToo movement’s message, given the re-emergence of Monica Lewinsky within that movement. The former HornDog-in-Chief and his fixers completely trashed the young twenty-something intern in order to keep public sentiment focused on Clinton remaining in office. Remember the sluts and nuts strategy of political consultant James Carville that demonized any woman who came forward with a story about Clinton? That strategy is a complete reversal of today’s narrative from the left that all women must be believed, no matter what. The show promises to “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.”

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I’ll not hold my breath on how far the story will go to show the hypocrisy of Democrats like the Clintons who hold themselves up as voices for the advancement of women’s rights while their personal lives show a different truth. We’ll see how far the “nuance” is extended in interpretation. Will the Clintons receive the bulk of the blame for how the women were treated or will that blame be shoved off on the people in charge of managing the stories as they erupted?

“This is a completely valid [story] cycle for ‘American Crime Story,’” FX chairman John Landgraf said at the Television Critics Association summer press tour here. Landgraf added that the social media environment is too quick to get outraged over a TV show it hasn’t seen.

“There’s a lot of nuance in this story that people don’t know, he said. “People are going to be very interested in this, and it’s going to be a great show.”

“If you went back and saw the way that story was covered at the time, the way we perceive many aspects of it has really been transformed,” Landgraf said. “What brought [the idea] back around was Sarah Burgess’s script [and her] reinterpretation of the material through the prism of these women.”

Landgraf says he’s pleased that Lewinsky agreed to sign on as a producer. “The fact that Monica herself wants to be involved in it maybe tells you something about the quality of the material,” he said.

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Perhaps the decision to do this story and air it just before the 2020 presidential election will serve as a reminder that if Clinton could be impeached in his second term, the Trump deranged leftists can do the same in Trump’s second term. I see no reason to think that the Senate will change back to a Democrat majority so the result will be the same as in 1999. I remember when Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore triumphantly marched out on the White House lawn to celebrate the Senate voting down the House’s impeachment vote. Imagine the rally that Trump would hold should the same happen to him.

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