User Reviews

A great opening for the series, dramatic and captivating. The characters are well cast and well acted. The costuming and sets are absolutely beautiful. And the music pairs so well with the storyline and cinematography. My only complaint is the long cuts between scenes made me feel like it was ending or paused.

Engrossing series with brilliant acting, directing, beautiful design (architecture, clothing etc.) The out-of-sequence time line with interweaving stories was confusing, so I cleared up plot confusion by going to Wikipedia (as I was watching) then back to the series. Some scenes are violent (including sexual violence) Sissies (like me) can look away. :) The in-depth character exploration leads to a sense of the stark human cost of homophobia and a plea for compassion.

Great film that was more about gay life than fashion. The glimpse into the business of haute couture was fascinating, if too brief. And Donatella, played by Penelope Cruz, stole the movie.

A perfect 10 for 10! This was not only great casting by the film producers in selecting versatile actor Edgar Ramírez as Gianni Versace and his serial killer Andrew Cunanan, played by TV star of Glee (2010-2015) fame, Darren Criss, but all the other key people in Gianni Versace's life. Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico, played by singing sensation Ricky Martin, and Versace's sister Donatella Versace, played by Penélope Cruz, provided the audience with how real and how tragic this crime really was.

Gianni Versace loved living in Miami and he also loved being able to walk down the street to his favorite local cafe to drink coffee and read the newspaper, and when he felt like it talk to the locals. As a designer of fine clothes and a fashion legend, Gianni was at the top of his game.

Even the police and FBI agents assigned to the case were all selected for this mini series for their specific parts with obvious care. If I compare this mini series to some of the crappy character selections such as in the current TV series S.W.A.T., or Criminal Minds, where everyone of the starring roles is provided to an attractive under 35 actor/actress, these shows rely on eye candy and not on content.

Actor Edgar Ramírez is a true chameleon who shows in this mini series how superb a character actor he actually is who dives deep into the great role of Gianni Versace, playing the designer with both elegance and display for the love of the people that surrounded him continuously. Darren Criss who plays the serial killer Andrew Cunanan, was blessed with good looks and an ability to lie his way "in and out" of any situation as he so chose.

These men have lived two lives that could not be anymore different. Their sexuality is what they have in common. One man, Versace is world renowned, a gifted fashion designer and is loved by everyone. The other man Cunanan, had humble beginnings but desired to live a rich and privileged lifestyle without having to work for anything.

The senseless point blank and intentional targeted murder of Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan, initiated an international media frenzy, and one of the largest police investigations in the U.S. to make an arrest before serial killer Andrew Cunanan could/would kill again.

This mini-series provides its audience with a significant historical adaptation of the events leading up to Versace's murder and the events leading up to the eventual capture of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The screenplay is excellent, the story which as any good historical series should be able to do seamlessly flips between past and present situations that occurred. I cannot say enough about the entire cast who deliver their parts with a realism seldom seen which portrays the real life characters they are portraying.

Kudos to the entire production company, the screenwriters, the various directors who sewed the scenes together, and the actors/actresses who dived into their individual roles with a heart felt love for the real life people they were paid to portray. I cannot wait until this mini-series is released as a Blu Ray special edition.

A perfect 10 for 10!

Loved this first episode, like in the first seaso there is a huge attention paid to details which is something i really care about when watching a movie or tv show.

The atmosphere, the ambiance, the colors, are all great make and keep you focus on the screen and story.

cant wait for the next episodes.

The scenery.. the acting... the MUSIC!!! I was hooked after the first 2 minutes. The acting was amazing... Darren deserves a Golden Globe for his role as Andrew Cunanan. Penelope Cruz nailed the role of Donatella, her accent ( whilst hard for some people to understand) was spot on. Once again Ryan Murphy has given us a masterpiece! I cannot wait to see how the rest of the season plays out!!

The detail in this show is amazing. From the on location shooting in the Versace Mansion in South Beach to the costumes and music. And the detail shown in the killing and the body leaves nothing to the imagination. The cast is superb. Penelope Cruz may be too pretty for Donatella but she has presence and that's effective Ricky Martin is the boyfriend and he seems quite good at acting sad so far. Edgar Ramirez looks a lot like Versace. Darren Criss also looks like the person he is playing and so far gives a mesmerizing performance as Andrew Cunanan with all his delusions and preening and freak outs. Ryan Murphy does a top notch job as director creating such a scary and tense narration in the 1st episode that it keeps the viewer glued to the screen.

Compared to Season 1 OJ Simpson this show seems even better. It's got a cast that looks like the real people - better than the miscast Cuba Gooding as OJ in season 1.

This is a must watch - it's going to be tough to wait a week for the next episode.

I was enthralled by this series, one of the best that I have seen in a long time.

It was unsettling and disturbing a lot of the time , I felt so many different emotions throughout .

Darren Criss was simply amazing as the deeply disturbed and complex Andrew Cuban an, I was mesmerised by his performance .

The entire series was brilliantly filmed , the settings and location extremely glamorous, and each actor played their roles to perfection.

I highly recommend this series , Do watch it , its incredible !

A story that could have been done in 2 or 3 hours. What was the point of telling the story in reverse? Such a let down after American Crime Story season 1.

From here in England... This has been the best watch in many years. The most extraordinary acting from some top quality actors. We in my small group were totally taken by it and magic Wednesday couldn't come around quick enough. We were both scared and enthralled .I hope that you get some kind of huge recognition for this . Absolutely amazing Thanks to all in 'the murder of Gianni Versace', its given us goose bumps! We still talk about it now..... ..... 12/10 rating casting perfect , acting perfect,

JRC from Mitcham ,Surrey,England

Unless you want to learn almost nothing about Gianni and want to spend 7 hours watching this annoying crazy pathological liar have meaningless and pointless conversations with people this is the show for you.

I think it would be better for lady gaga to play the role of Donatella Versace, they look more alike

The way this first episode sets the scene is just wonderful. Spectacular filming, incredible accuracy wether it be in the ressemblance of the actors to the real life figures, the precision of the events or just the general feeling around the story. They captured the feeling just right.

Never have I seen a more psychotic character than the one Darren Criss plays. A chilling performance well worthy of his Golden Globe Award.

A gripping drama from start to finish.

Great story and plot ,very interesting story from all perspectives but almost needs to be watched out of order

The series is good, but I wish the parts of it that are happening in Italy to be in Italian. And conversations between Gianni and Donatella as well. I doubt it they spoke in English when they were alone

I appreciated this season of American Crime Story more than anticipated. The writing supercedes most other series, because the writers doggedly escavate the background of each lead character. And what they reveal is fascinating. The story carries on at a nice pace, and thankfully it is absent of the redundancy which most series are plagued with. The direction, production design, and editing were also well done.

The only warning I would give: if you avoid series which reflect true-to-life violence, then take pause.

Darren Criss was quite convincing in the lead -- in fact, he was scary-good. This year, I'm happy to discover his fine work, along with Richard Madden (starred in another series, "Bodyguard") -- both are quite attractive in a typical way, and this can limit the viewer's perceptions of their range... but they both blew it out of the water. Criss is deservedly winning various awards.

The rest of the Versace cast is quite committed, yet I felt the role of Donatella should have gone to someone like Lady Gaga (who is 3/4 Italian). She is blessed with such passion and a vocal prowess, that I am sure if she spoke (English) with an Italian accent, it would have been thoroughly convincing. Penelope tried her hardest, but I did not buy it, and her Spanish accent was distracting.

I am sorry but just can't stand the accent of Donatella. Serious lack of effort to produce an italian accent. She sounds like a spanish speaker and this just takes me off the experience and had to give up watching this show. I am surprised that I am alone with this view, but Spain is a completely different country than Italy and no real italian would speak like Donatella in this show. Otherwise the rest of the cast is great, and production values are top notch, but this accent issue is inexcusable. Also, because I saw how the assassination happened early in the first episode, I almost lost all motivation to continue, especially after I heard Donatella speak.

The great script and a decent cast did not safe such horrible production. It looks like the entire show was planned by the movie school freshman. So many historical mistakes in the way Miami of 1997 looked like left me speechless: new rebranded signs, modern security cameras and fresh buildings are constantly present throughout the episodes. The only think that's missing to create a total disaster, is probably a Starbucks cup with the 2011 logo on it lol. Miami looks nothing like in 1997. It seems like whoever was doing a scene planning thought a retro color correction filter and a few vintage shirts from Out of The Closet can really do the job here. Bad news for you guys... to show Miami of 1997, you actually have to know what it looked like then.