TV talk: “American Sports Story” reports on the Hernandez case; Cam Heyward on “Hot Ones”

PASADENA, Calif. – Producer Ryan Murphy understands one of the few truisms in contemporary pop culture: Crime pays. At least true crime stories do, because American audiences lap them up.

Next week, Murphy embarks on a true crime tour with his latest Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” (September 19), and two days earlier, FX will air the first two episodes of Murphy’s “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” (September 17, 10 p.m., FX; the next day on Hulu).

Based on The Boston Globe/Wondery's podcast “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.”, the first part of the new 10-episode anthology series “American Sports Story” chronicles Hernandez's rise to the NFL's New England Patriots, his early childhood trauma, the effects of CTE, his sexual identity and the murders he committed.

In an interview during the FX portion of the Television Critics Association summer 2024 press tour, the series' writer and executive producer Stuart Zicherman said that Hernandez's story was originally supposed to premiere under the “American Crime Story” banner, but since the “American Sports Story” anthology had already been announced, that decision was reconsidered.

“From the moment I read the Globe article, it was so much about sports in America, but it still covered all the major cultural issues in America,” Zicherman said. “I think that's why it was decided to make it the first 'Sports Story,' because it's not just about sports. It's an event in the sports world that speaks to the larger social issues in America, but it's related to sports.”

Boston Globe series consultant and writer and former Spotlight editor Patricia Wen said she and the other reporters who worked on the Globe's original print series were available to answer Zicherman's questions but had no veto power on the television series.

“All reporters, myself included, know that if they want to dramatize our work, even if they have a state police report and it talks about what was said, [the TV series writers still] “We need to create dialogue about this,” she said.

Wen said she had seen the first five episodes and felt that “the character of Aaron Hernandez reflects all the complexity that I think we all recognized in our reporting.”

Zicherman said that while much has been written about Hernandez, a drama series gives filmmakers the opportunity to “fill in the gaps.”

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“They speculated that Aaron Hernandez went to Indianapolis to meet with [New England Patriots coach Bill] “I wanted to call Belichick and demand a transfer,” Zicherman said. “I just wanted to be in the room where that happened. No one else could be there. So I got to write that scene. I know I can write and shoot that scene with all the information we get from their reports, and then for the first time, someone is in the room where it happened. And that's why you do a show like this.”

Wen said one of the breakthroughs in the Globe team's reporting was accessing prison records after Hernandez committed suicide in prison.

“The ability to get hundreds of hours of prison footage was one of the things that really informed our reporting in terms of his vulnerability, things that he spoke about very openly: 'I was surrounded by millions of dollars of fame and inside I was miserable,'” Wen said. “It was like Aaron Hernandez was speaking from the realm of the dead. And that was so powerful. We can try to incorporate it (into our reporting), and that's why a television series has the ability to portray the soul and psyche of Aaron Hernandez in a way that we can't in print.”

'How to Die Alone'

Natasha Rothwell was the heart of the first season of The White Lotus, playing spa manager Belinda (she returns to the role in season three), and earned the chance to create and star in her own series, How to Die Alone, which begins streaming on Hulu on September 13.

As talented as Rothwell is as an actor, this comedy series is a mixed bag, with the tone swinging between crude comedy and heartbreaking drama in almost every episode. It's a strange mix.

Rothwell plays Mel, a JFK airport employee whose near-death experience encourages her to take risks, even as she freaks out when her ex-boyfriend (Jocko Sims) invites Mel and her gay best friend (Conrad Ricamora) to her ex's wedding in Hawaii.

Mel is a great friend. She's smart, funny, and has a great personality, but her insecurities lead to bad decisions that make How to Die Alone less entertaining and fun than it could be.

Zapping

Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward appeared on the streaming series “Hot Ones” last week and talked about his favorite Pittsburgh specialties (“nebby” and “dahntahn” were both mentioned) while eating chicken wings with increasingly hot sauces slathered on them. … Pittsburgh native Joe Manganiello will host Netflix’s “Geeked Week 2024 Live” from Atlanta, which airs Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. on YouTube, Twitch and X. … Denzel Washington, executive producer of the upcoming Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh-set but Atlanta-shot “The Piano Lesson,” told Variety this week that the next adapted play will be Wilson’s Pittsburgh-set “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” … Chloe Troast is leaving NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” after one season as the show adds three new cast members: Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline. … The “76th” season will air on Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. Emmy Awards” airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC, preceded by “On the Red Carpet: Live at the Emmys” (Sunday, 7 p.m., ABC) and coverage on E! from 5-7 p.m. … On Sept. 23, streaming service BroadwayHD will show a stage recording of the 2022 off-Broadway musical “Between the Lines,” based on the novel by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer and about an outsider in a new town trying to find her place at a new school. … Tuesday night's debate between U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump drew 67.14 million viewers across multiple linear television networks, a 31% increase from the debate between Trump and President Joe Biden in June. Tuesday's debate was well-reviewed in the swing state of Pennsylvania, with the debate drawing the highest ratings nationwide in Pittsburgh at 44.2. Philadelphia finished second with 43.4.