Ryan Murphy’s FX empire of “American [Fill-In-The-Blank] Story” projects expands with the long-awaited arrival of the first installment of American Sports Story. First announced in 2021, I must admit that were it not for the lead character’s profession, this could just as easily have been the latest installment of American Crime Story. I’ll add that, as someone who doesn’t follow sports closely, this was great news. American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is a multi-faceted dramatic retelling of a promising young man’s life and how he found himself on a road to ruin.
(Michael Parmelee/FX)
The series opens with a turning point – February 13th, 2013 – when Aaron Hernandez (Josh Rivera, West Side Story) shoots his friend “Sherrod” (Roland Buck III, Chicago Med) in the face. We catch up to this preface in the sixth episode, but the series otherwise follows a linear timeline of Aaron Hernandez’s life through his high school, college, and NFL years leading up to his death in 2017. It’s a nature vs. nurture examination of how a life with so much promise and potential came to a murderous halt.
Based on The Boston Globe’s reporting (Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.), American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is told with an asterisk that appears during the end credits of each episode, which states that creative liberties were taken with this story. In other words, this is entertainment for entertainment’s sake. It doesn’t take much digging to see how the series has softened its protagonist’s edges in ways that create more sympathy and empathy from viewers. In that regard, there is guaranteed to be a lot of criticism thrown at the series. It doesn’t go as far as to justify his murders, but it proposes an equation of elements beyond his control that brought him to each one. These include physical and emotional parental abuse, sexual abuse, struggles with sexuality, drug abuse, mental health, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Josh Rivera is captivating as Aaron Hernandez, delivering a powerful and emotionally charged performance that helps make American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez addicting. He’s surrounded by a cast of heavy hitters, mainly from New York’s theater scene, each a scene stealer in their own right. Tony-winner Lindsay Mendez (Merrily We Roll Along) rises to the top of the show’s unforgettable performances as Aaron’s older cousin Tanya Singleton, who plays a more significant maternal role to Aaron than his birth mother (played by Emmy-winner Tammy Blanchard, Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows). The series also includes portrayals of some famous sports figures, including Tim Tebow (Patrick Schwarzenegger), Rob Gronkowski (Laith Wallschleger), Urban Meyer (Tony Yazbeck), and Bill Belichick (Norbert Leo Butz).
(Michael Parmelee/FX)
What hooked me about American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is the relationships. The most overarching is with Shayanna Jenkins, played by Jaylen Barron (Shameless), partially because it’s the one Aaron Hernandez allows to remain constant. She’s a good source of stability for Aaron, something he doesn’t allow himself to have despite it being what he’s always wanted. Initially depicted as a high school flirtation, Aaron’s romance with Shayanna is precluded by Dennis Sansoucie (Kalama Epstein, The Fosters), his friend and teammate. On that note, the series respectfully avoids labeling Aaron Hernandez’s sexuality, although it does showcase his failed efforts to resist his same-sex attractions.
What is likely to be the show’s most controversial element is a character named “Chris,” played by Jake Cannavale (The Mandalorian). He feels inspired by two sources – brother Jonathan “DJ” Hernandez’s book The Truth About Aaron and lawyer Jose Baez’s book Unnecessary Roughness. Both authors write about an unidentified male lover of Aaron’s whom he had an affair with behind Shayanna’s back. On-screen, it’s both romantic, passionate, and heartbreaking. But “Chris” is among the most fabricated elements in American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. The show also omits Aaron’s alleged prison boyfriend, Kyle Kennedy, for the inclusion of this character.
Overall, American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez is addictively entertaining. From a production standpoint, my only criticism is some bad special effects, ironically, during the sports sequences. I suspect the project also employed some AI-generated crowds, which pull viewers out of the action. While it doesn’t necessarily do a great job of introducing a new anthology series (the sports of American Sports Story feel somewhat inconsequential here), true-crime fans will enjoy this dramatic retelling of a true cautionary tale.
I give American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez 4.5 out of 5 musical theater stars not singing a single note.
FX’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres Tuesday, September 17th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX and Streaming Next Day on Hulu.