American Manhunt: OJ Simpson (2025)

It's been 30 years since the murder trial of one Orenthal James Simpson where, despite a seemingly overwhelming amount of physical evidence, he was remarkably acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman. The whole saga was really the first time something of this magnitude had played out mostly on live television and, at the time, was a watershed moment in not only American history, but in the history of media itself. You could even make the point that this case marked the genesis for the deluge-of-information age we now live in. 

If you're unfamiliar with the particulars of the trial, I won't bore you with them here but, in essence, the human cesspit that was OJ Simpson was a once famous sports and crossover Hollywood star who systematically abused Nicole Brown and made her life absolute hell before brutally killing her. Ron Goldman innocently stumbled upon the scene and was slaughtered too. This utter loaf then went on the run, leading to the most infamous car chase in history, wherein Simpson held a gun to his own head while being pursued by the LAPD, all live on worldwide television for the baying public to see. Quick spoiler alert: he did it. He proved himself over the years to be abhorrent in just about every way, utterly remorseless about the whole thing, and even went as far as to publish a book called 'If I Did It' about how he didn't commit the crime. The fact he evaded justice makes most people's blood boil to this day, despite his death last year. 

ESPN's 'OJ: Made In America' came out in 2016 and really stood up as the definitive piece about this case and the consequences around it. It was an almost 8 hour deep dive into the particulars of the case, as well as the man himself and, most importantly, the victims. Such was the magnitude of the series, it ended up winning the Academy Award for 'Best Documentary'. So when I saw this new show pop up on Netflix, I was underwhelmed. However, this case runs deep in not only my psyche but the psyche of many people who were around to see it. I remember being in the United States in 1995 and watching the show in a bar on TV. The entire room was glued to it in the same way as if the Superbowl itself was on. Even as a 14 year old, you could feel the impact. 

Most of the same players you'd expect are wheeled out for this re-telling of the now familiar story. However, this is a Netflix docuseries we're talking about here. They know what they are doing. So, from the off, the music kicks in, a drone shot swoops over LA at night, the tension is high and I found myself immediately propelled back into that balmy West Los Angeles night in 1994. It was at this point, about 13.7 seconds into the show, that I knew instantly that all other commitments would have to wait. I'm watching this shit.

The first episode, entitled appropriately 'The Blood', focuses on the night in question and paints a predictably damning account of why and how OJ Simpson quite obviously murdered these two people. What was immediately interesting was references to crucial testimonies left out of the trial for no apparent reason. The man who saw OJ disposing of a bag at the airport, the woman who saw him driving wildly near the scene of the crime moments after the murder, the knife box and medical supplies tossed around his house, why all of this was left out I suppose we'll never know. All I'll say that this stuff, again, makes for compelling viewing. 

Episode 2 focuses on his arrest, fleeing, and aforementioned car-chase hysteria. What's interesting again here is the seemingly endless treasure trove of stock footage the filmmakers have been able to utilize and put together. You really get a sense of just how quickly this thing spiraled out of control, in terms of public interest. It went from "this is interesting" to being broadcast on the big screen at Madison Square Garden during the NBA Finals, to an army of crazed fans following absolutely every move related to the case. You can almost hear future reality TV producers watching and thinking "hey, there could be something in this", before lighting another cigar and drinking a fine glass of chilled children tears. 

Episode 3 again sharpens its focus on the media frenzy that spawned around this case, particularly during the televised trial. Why this trial was ever deemed fit for public consumption I will never know, but that was the decision and the world was glued to its TV sets from then on, leading to a myriad of issues being brought to the fore. From the recent LA riots of 1992, to racist police officers, to contaminated evidenced, to ill-fitting gloves (although they always seemed to fit just fine to me), to character assassinations, the whole thing played out like a wide-reaching treatise on America itself rather than a simple case of double homicide. Yet again, you can't escape the feeling that the thing forgotten in all of this slander and outrage is that two innocent people were killed. It's a sad and damning fact about this entire case that lingers here once more. 

As we now know, OJs lawyers did a pretty masterful job of raising reasonable doubt where there was none and while I still find people like Carl Douglas, F Lee Bailey and Barry Scheck largely repellent cockroaches, you can't deny they are interesting characters to watch. Indeed one thing this show highlights well is just how good their defense was and how systematically flawed the justice system can be,  unfortunately for the victims. As prosecutor Christopher Darden rightly puts it, "Sometimes all the circumstances come perfectly together for something like this to happen. That's either a beautiful thing or an absolute travesty, depending on your perspective." We also hear from a juror who you can pretty much tell thinks OJ is guilty but had to acquit him because of the doubt raised by people like Mark Furhman lying on the stand. 

The whole thing was a mess and this 4-part series was certainly an interesting reminder of just what a mess it all became. The trouble with it is, I'm not sure it needed to exist at all. These types of docuseries have become Netflix' bread and butter of late, so of course it is exquisitely put together, but this one simply doesn't offer anything new on the subject. Instead it sits uncomfortably in the shadow of ESPN's 'Made in America' and really just rehashes what was covered in that series so masterfully, in a less comprehensive manner. I suspect that for people out there who aren't absolute nerds for this case like I myself admittedly am, there's really not much point in watching at all. Unless you haven't seen 'Made in America' that is. In that case, this will probably be an insanely brilliant piece of television, especially the revelation at the end from OJs former agent, Mike Gilbert. However, if you have seen 'Made in America' you will know that the exact same revelation was made 9 years earlier in that series, so it's still somewhat headscratching why this series exists. Yet there I was watching it, popcorn in hand, phone switched off, and largely riveted by every episode. 

So who knows, maybe we're gluttons for punishment. Maybe we just like revisiting old wounds. Whatever the case, you wonder if it may be time for this story, and the revolting cockmuppet at the center of it, to finally be laid to rest. 

★★★☆☆

JB.