With 'American Crime Story,' Ryan Murphy Solidifies TV Legendary Status

It seems like almost everything writer/producer/director Ryan Murphy touches turns to TV gold. Murphy's long run on TV started in 1999 with the 2-season teen drama "Popular," but he first broke through into the national consciousness with his FX drama "Nip/Tuck," earning his first Emmy nod.

But where Murphy thrived was with the comedy-musical "Glee," which brought LGBT issues to the forefront of America's minds. Murphy dramatically shifted gears, however, in 2011 with "American Horror Story." The FX series was not only one of the biggest hits for the network, but Murphy's idea to make "AHS" an anthology series truly changed the TV landscape.

The idea of the anthology series (or, rebooting "AHS" each season while keeping a core cast of actors - similar to a repertory theater) has taken a hold on the way TV is made today. A number of programs, ranging from small cable channels to broadcast networks, have adopted the method; and Murphy has run with it in his other series.

Last fall, Murphy's horror-comedy anthology "Scream Queens" aired on Fox, while earlier this year his anthology series "American Crime Story" debuted on FX. But there is something dramatically different about "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson," at least compared to Murphy's previous shows.

"ACS" finds Murphy, 50, at his best: While he's found great success over the years, striking TV gold again and again, critics haven't been so warm to his programs. He's been charged with bad story telling; for falling out-of-love with his creations. There seems to be a pattern with the showrunner: the first few seasons of his series are strong but, the latter half tend to be full of half-baked ideas and poor dialogue (see "Glee" and "AHS). Others find Murphy's programing to be too campy or lacking substance; shock value to boost ratings via clickbait articles (let's not forget the dildo drill bit from "AHS: Hotel" last year).

While the real life O.J. Simpson murder trail was a media circus that captured world attention in the 90s, Murphy's fictionalized series has the producer focused, honing his skills and telling a the most compelling and interesting version. "The People v. O.J. Simpson" is already one of the best TV shows of 2016.

With "ACS," Murphy is taking a bit of a backseat: he serves as executive producer, along with Brad Falchuk (Murphy's longtime collaborator), Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (a screenwriting team who developed the series from Jeffrey Toobin's book "The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson"). Nevertheless, Murphy's thumbprint is felt throughout "ACS," which has aired five episodes of its 13 as of this writing.

Directing has always been one of Murphy's strong suits. HBO's AIDS crisis movie "The Normal Heart" is one of Murphy's best projects and episodes of "AHS" shine when he's behind the camera. For "ACS," this is no different: Murphy directed the first two stellar episodes, setting the series' tone and look, which, at its peak, feels like a cool, sleek Steven Soderbergh flick.

Over the years, Murphy has also proven to be a casting guru. When it came to "AHS" Murphy courted excellent talent, giving incredible acting vets like Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Mare Winningham a coveted spotlight. He knew how to use his leading ladies. He put Lange in powerful roles to show off her range. In the four seasons in which she starred, Lange's character arc usually followed a similar path: staring the season as The Head Bitch In Charge and ending as a defeated soul. He's also given breaks to actors like Lea Michele ("Glee") and introducing his large audience to Sarah Paulson, who's appeared in all five season of "AHS" and phenomenally portrays prosecutor Marcia Clark in "ACS."

It seemed as though the casting news for "ACS" became more and more insane in the months leading to the series' premier. Learning that John Travolta would play celebrity attorney Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian and Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson was mind-blowing. But things kept getting better: Selma Blair as Kris Jenner, Connie Britton (an "AHS" alumna) as Faye Resnick, Malcolm-Jamal Warner as A.C. Cowlings and Nathan Lane F. Lee Bailey.

Every single actor delivers in "ACS," with Travolta giving a captivating and curious performance and Courtney B. Vance becoming the series' MVP with his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran.

But "ACS" also shows Murphy recognizing his weakness, which, given his track record with his previous shows, is writing. Alexander and Karaszewski's (the duo wrote the screenplays for "Ed Wood," "The People v. Larry Flint," "Big Eyes" and more) adaptation of Toobin's book, and Murphy's campiness, which often runs rampant in his series, is lassoed in. The biggest sign of Murphy's pop culture-obsessed writing is mostly with Robert Kardashian, who sometimes references his now-famous family, or takes his kids (yes, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Rob Jr.) out to lunch, giving them pep talks about fame.

With "ACS," Murphy plays his cards right, exceling behind the camera but not getting too involved in the writing process. Rumor has it the next season of "AHS" will be about the Internet horror meme Slender Man. It was also alleged that the script for the season was purchased - a first for "AHS." If this turns out to be true, Murphy may have found his perfect formula for a truly successful TV show.