AceShowbiz -

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sarah Paulson are cast in the lead roles for the first installment of FX's new anthology miniseries from Ryan Murphy, "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson". The Academy Award-winning actor will portray the retired football player and convicted felon, while Paulson will play prosecutor Marcia Clark.

The first season will tackle the O.J. Simpson trial told from the perspective of the lawyers that explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution confidence, defense wiliness, and the LAPD's history with the city's African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt. It is based on Jeffrey Toobin's "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson".

Murphy is set to direct at least the first episode in addition to executive producing the series with Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski are writing the first two hours of the miniseries and serving as executive producers as well.

Filming for the 10-episode first season will begin early next year in Los Angeles. No premiere date is announced yet.

Gooding Jr. won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Jerry Maguire" (1996). He starred in the critically acclaimed "Lee Daniels' The Butler" (2013) and will next be seen in Martin Luther King Jr. biopic "Selma" which is due December 25. Paulson, meanwhile, has appeared in all four seasons of Murphy's "American Horror Story" which also airs on FX.

Murphy is currently also shepherding FOX's horror-comedy anthology series "Scream Queens" which recently cast Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis in lead roles.