The first season follows troubled NFL star Aaron Hernandez. The trailer stars Josh Rivera as the notorious tight end, who charts his American football career from high school, through his time at the University of Florida, to his three seasons with Tom Brady’s New England Patriots, including a Super Bowl appearance before he was arrested and convicted for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
While Hernandez is on a meteoric rise on the field, his life off the field is becoming increasingly unstable. At one point in the trailer, someone tells him, "Nobody’s questioning your athletic ability, Aaron. They’re questioning your character."
The first season of American Sports Story is based on the Boston Globe and Wondery podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. The limited series charts the rise and fall of Hernandez, exploring various aspects of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide in 2017 at age 27, and his legacy in sports and American culture.
The series also stars Jaylen Barron, Lindsay Mendez, Ean Castellanos, Tammy Blanchard, Tony Yazbeck, Thomas Sadoski, Jake Cannavale, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow and Norbert Leo Butz as legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Stuart Zicherman, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, and Carl Franklin.
Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery also serve as executive producers alongside Linda Pizzuti Henry and Ira Napoliello of The Boston Globe. The series is produced by 20th Television.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres on Tuesday, September 17. Watch the trailer below.