Katrina: American Crime Story Delayed, Replaced by The Assassination of Gianni Versace

While it had originally been slated for an early 2018 release, production for Katrina: American Crime Story has been delayed. In its place, FX will premiere The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as the second installment of the acclaimed anthology series.

FX had previously announced plans for Katrina to serve as the follow-up to Ryan Murphy’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which became the network’s most-watched series, cleaned up nicely during award season and landed near the top of Paste’s list of best shows in 2016. The season will chronicle the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in the city of New Orleans. Matthew Broderick, Annette Bening and Dennis Quaid were announced to play major roles in the new installment of the limited series. However, as THR reports, issues with scheduling and special effects have pushed production of the season back to early 2018, with plans to air toward the end of that year.

In response, FX has moved up The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which was originally announced to be the third season of the series. Production began in April, with a star-studded cast including Edgar Ramirez as the titular character, Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace, Darren Criss as Versace’s murderer and Ricky Martin as Versace’s longtime partner. Murphy, who won an Emmy for his directing on The People v. O.J. Simpson, helmed the premiere episode.

The second season of American Crime Story is scheduled to air in early 2018.