John Travolta has joined the cast of the upcoming FX anthology series "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson" as attorney Robert Shapiro, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Travolta joins Cuba Good Jr. as Simpson, Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark and David Schwimmer as Simpson's friend and attorney, Robert Kardashian. He'll also serve as a producer on the 10-episode series created by Ryan Murphy.
Shapiro initially led the Simpson's "Dream Team," the defense team for the former football star during his murder trial in 1995. He later relinquished the reins to Johnnie Cochran, who made the famous statement, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," about the bloody glove found at the crime scene.
"American Crime Story" marks Travolta's first TV series since he starred as Vinnie Barbarino on "Welcome Back, Kotter" in the late '70s. He made a brief TV appearance last year as a guest-star on the TV Land sitcom, "Kirstie," starring his "Look Who's Talking" co-star and good friend Kirstie Alley.
Travolta received Oscar nominations for his leading roles in "Saturday Night Fever" and "Pulp Fiction." He also starred in big films such as "Grease," "Get Shorty," "Face/Off," and "Primary Colors."
Murphy will direct the miniseries based on the book "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson" by Jeffrey Toobin. The story is told from the perspective of the lawyers: the over-confident prosecution on one side and Simpson's crafty defense team that convinced a jury to find reasonable doubt.
"The People vs. Larry Flynt" screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will pen the first two episodes. The new series will serve as a companion series to Murphy's FX show "American Horror Story."
The state of California tried Simpson on two counts of murder: one for the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and the other for waiter Ronald Lyle Goldman. Much of the eight-month trial played out on television and many argue race relations played a major part in the final verdict.
