Ryan Murphy will continue his exploration of ’70s excess with a new American Crime Story season focusing on Studio 54
He recently debuted a Netflix series about the legendary 1970s fashion designer Halston.
And now Ryan Murphy has announced that one of the hottest nightlife locales of that era will soon be the focus of an upcoming season of his acclaimed American Crime Story series.
The famously prolific television creator, 55, spoke with Deadline about his intention to create a season of ACS based around the saga of historic New York City nightclub Studio 54.
More to come: Ryan Murphy has announced that one of the hottest nightlife locales in history will soon be the focus of an upcoming season of his acclaimed American Crime Story series
Studio 54 was a legendary albeit short-lived disco nightclub in midtown Manhattan, which was open on and off from 1977 until 1986.
It attracted glitterati from around the globe, including famous guests such as Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, Liza Minnelli and Halston.
The nightclub was known for its incredibly selective door, with throngs of would-be clubgoers packing the street outside in hopes of being selected for entry.
Studio 54 also was infamous for the debauchery inside, with parties that allowed excessive drug use and free-flowing sexuality.
Nightlife legends: The TV creator spoke about his intention to create a season of ACS based around historic New York City nightclub Studio 54; (L-R) clubgoers Halston, Bianca Jagger, Jack Haley, Jr. and wife Liza Minnelli and Andy Warhol seen here in a stock photo from that era
Infamous: Studio 54 also was infamous for the debauchery inside, with parties that allowed excessive drug use and free-flowing sexuality
The original owners of the club, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, were forced to shut the club down in 1980 when they were convicted of tax evasion.
That particular part of the story, presumably, will figure as the ‘crime’ in Murphy’s American Crime Story.
‘We’re going to do Studio 54 as season of American Crime Story,’ Ryan told Deadline‘s Crew Call.
‘You can tell in my work that I’m obsessed with that era,’ the Glee co-creator continued. ‘That’s when I was a child, in Indiana, getting the Liz Smith column in the Indianapolis Star, reading about it, I’m like “Oh! I wanna go there.”
‘I love what it’s about. I love that time and place,’ he added. ‘But I also feel like, it’s a story of excess, and a story of two guys who had a dream, and took the dream too far and paid for it. I love Ian Schrager’s work and I think he’s a genius. It’s an interesting story to tell through the prism of American Crime Story.’
Studio 54 was a legendary albeit short-lived disco nightclub in midtown Manhattan in the late 70s and early 80s: It was known for its incredibly selective door; Socialite Bianca Jagger, club owner Steve Rubell, Halston and Liza Minnelli seen here at the club in December 1977
‘We’re going to do Studio 54 as season of American Crime Story,’ Ryan told Deadline: ‘You can tell in my work that I’m obsessed with that era’; seen here in 2019
The first two seasons of ACS focused on the OJ Simpson trial and the assassination of fashion designer Gianni Versace, respectively.
Both of those seasons were widely acclaimed, winning a total of 16 Primetime Emmy Awards.
The third season of American Crime Story is currently in production.
It focuses on the story of the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton scandal from the late 1990s.
This series, starring Beanie Feldstein as Lewinsky and Clive Owen as Clinton, will premiere this September.
He’s got the golden touch in TV: The first two seasons of ACS focused on the OJ Simpson trial and the assassination of Gianni Versace, respectively, winning a total of 16 Emmy Awards