Court TV’s revisiting the O.J. Simpson murder trial on its 25th anniversary with OJ25, the network’s first original true crime series. The 37-week series is set to premiere on January 23, 2020, with new episodes airing Thursdays at 9pm ET.
O.J. Simpson went on trial for the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, on January 24, 1995. The shocking not guilty verdict was rendered 37 weeks later on October 2, 1995. Simpson was ultimately found guilty of the murders in a civil trial and ordered to pay $25 million in punitive damages to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Exactly 13 years after the first jury let him off, Simpson was convicted of robbery and kidnapping for his part in a crime involving the retrieval of sports memorabilia in Las Vegas. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison and was granted parole on October 1, 2017 at the age of 70.
Court TV’s OJ25 will include new interviews with the victims’ families, legal experts, Simpson’s defense lawyers, Prosecutor Bill Hodgman, and police detectives.
OJ25 Series Details, Courtesy of Court TV:
OJ25 will give viewers a front-row seat in the Simpson jury box, to relive the trial or discover it for the first time. Utilizing Court TV’s extensive library featuring every minute of the double murder trial, OJ25 will encapsulate the week’s courtroom action in the chronological order in which it took place 25 years ago in Los Angeles ̶ from the trial’s start on January 24, 1995 until the verdict in early October.
OJ25 is hosted by renowned long-time former Los Angeles prosecutor and acclaimed legal analyst Roger Cossack. Cossack provided insights into the Simpson trial at the time for CNN as the network’s legal analyst and went on to the same role for ESPN. Cossack was a college classmate of Robert Shapiro, one of Simpson’s lawyers, and was made privy to defense strategies that he’s never made public but will share throughout the series.
The double murder trial of Simpson – the college football phenom (Heisman Trophy recipient in 1968) who went to become an NFL Hall of Famer and popular movie and television personality – riveted the nation during its nearly ten full months in 1995. In addition to numerous dramatic courtroom moments, the trial was most notable for its strong racial overtones, its impact on the judiciary system and how it spurred Americans across the nation to openly discuss the issues surrounding domestic violence for the first time.
