John Travolta to star in FX’s ‘American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson’

John Travolta will join the cast of “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson,” FX announced Wednesday.

He will star as defense attorney Robert Shapiro in the 10-part miniseries, which will dramatize the infamous murder trial of the former NFL star from the perspective of the lawyers on both sides of the case. It is based on the book “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson” by Jeffrey Toobin. The project comes from executive producer Ryan Murphy, the creative force behind the network’s successful “American Horror Story” franchise.

Already announced cast members include “American Horror Story’s” Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark and David Schwimmer as attorney (and father of Kim) Robert Kardashian.

As noted by FX, “American Crime Story” will be Travolta’s first regular series role since he rose to stardom as Vinnie Barbarino in the 1970s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” (though he did appear in an episode of TV Land’s “Kirstie” last year). He is the latest in a growing list of film stars who have migrated to the small screen in recent years, including Dustin Hoffman, Matthew McConaughey, Clive Owen and Kevin Spacey.

No word yet on whether Adele Dazeem will also be joining the cast.

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