American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (2018)

SEASON:

The Assassination of Gianni Versace
American Crime Story

Critics Consensus

The Assassination of Versace starts with a bang and unfurls slowly, moving backward through an intricate (and occasionally convoluted) murder mystery anchored by a career-defining performance from Darren Criss.

89%

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Critic Ratings: 96

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Audience Score

User Ratings: 0
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Episodes

1
The Man Who Would Be Vogue
Air date: Jan 17, 2018
2
Manhunt
Air date: Jan 24, 2018
3
A Random Killing
Air date: Jan 31, 2018
4
House by the Lake
Air date: Feb 7, 2018
5
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Air date: Feb 14, 2018
6
Descent
Air date: Feb 28, 2018
7
Ascent
Air date: Mar 7, 2018
8
Creator/Destroyer
Air date: Mar 14, 2018
9
Alone
Air date: Mar 21, 2018

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace Videos

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Tv Season Info

The assassination of Gianni Versace is spotlighted.

Cast

Edgar Ramirez
as Gianni Versace
Darren Criss
as Andrew Cunanan
Ricky Martin
as Antonio D'Amico
Penelope Cruz
as Donatella Versace

News & Interviews for American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

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Critic Reviews for American Crime Story The Assassination of Gianni Versace

All Critics (96) | Top Critics (37)

[Darren] Criss' performance is so good that it upends The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Where Cuba Gooding Jr.'s lackluster performance pushed O.J. to the margins of his own story, Criss, aided by scripts, pushes everyone else aside.

Jan 16, 2018 | Full Review…
Willa Paskin
Top Critic

Featuring less star power than OJ but a few stellar performances of its own, Gianni Versace will be a tougher sell to casual viewers, but those who go along for this journey into the world of a sociopath will be dramatically rewarded.

Jan 15, 2018 | Full Review…
Brian Tallerico
Top Critic

Sorry, not as good as O.J., but Criss turns in a dynamic performance in service of a desperately sad story.

Jan 14, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Verne Gay
Top Critic

"Versace" feels stretched and padded.

Jan 11, 2018 | Full Review…
Hal Boedeker
Top Critic

Former Glee star Darren Criss inhabits Cunanan with more flash and impact than any model who ever wore one of Versace's creations.

Jan 18, 2018 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…
Ed Bark
Top Critic

Getting the most out of American Crime Story will similarly mean looking past the frescoes and fabrics to the plight of people whose ken for beauty fascinated a sick man and-Murphy argues-a sick society.

Jan 18, 2018 | Full Review…
Spencer Kornhaber
Top Critic

While having certain characteristic features of the Murphy series such as the search for impact, it does not fall into excess. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jul 30, 2019 | Full Review…
Albertini

The backdrop, a giddy spin between disco and high culture, cannily catches the late 1990s mood with a mix of nostalgia and horror, homophobic cops exchanging mocking glances as Versace's colourful sex life gets whipped out for inspection.

May 20, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Keith Watson

Unknowingly, you start to care and that's what makes this Ryan Murphy show special.

Dec 20, 2018 | Full Review…
Pratim D. Gupta

Yet, the story of Gianni Versace feels fresh. That's because its a different approach. We aren't solving a murder. We're entering the mind of a sociopath.

Oct 29, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
Christopher James
View All Critic Reviews (96)

Audience Reviews for American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

  • Apr 20, 2019
    The Assassination of Gianni Versace, the second season of American Crime Story is, in my opinion, better than the first because it features a beautiful cinematography and few main characters, which makes for a better development, which are interpreted in an excellent way by Edgar Ramirez, Darren Criss, Ricky Martin and Penelope Cruz, especially Criss, who is spectacular in the role and deserved to win several awards
    ANDREY A
  • Apr 01, 2019
    This season is a little frustrating since the shows quality go constantly up and down. From some of the best moments ever on tv, to sometimes long and boring uninteresting moments and sometime the timeline shifts too often also. But overall still a great show, it both look and sound amazing and the acting is top notch, David Criss that played the murder Andrew Cunanan gives one of the best acting performances I've ever seen on tv.
    Ole-Martin P
  • Mar 20, 2019
    "The Assassination of Versace" takes a very complicated and intricate murder mystery and, for the most part, gives us a very fascinating and terrifying character dissection of spree killer Andrew Cunanan.
    Ryan C
  • Mar 14, 2019
    Pretentious, poorly acted overall, except Cruz and Martin. I had to stop two episodes in because I couldn't stomach the AWFUL overacted performance of Darren Criss. How everyone is raving about this guy is UNBELIEVABLE to me. He's terrible in this. He is 100 percent PHONY. There isn't a word he uttered that I found realistic, from the opening moments till when I stopped. People don't talk like him in real life. And the awful script doesn't help either. The writers have no clue how to write realistic fascinating dialogue when it comes to this particular character. Ramirez, Cruz and Martin hold everything together, but as soon as Criss is on the screen, it all goes to shit. While I realize I am in the minority, I am still hoping for someone else out there who agrees with me that Criss's performance is fake and annoying. At least in the first two episodes. Rotten Tomatoes really needs to monitor audience reviews somehow. Some Darren Criss fan boy or girl created hundreds and hundreds of fake profiles and gave hundreds of five star ratings, one after the other, with no actual reviews. How is this allowed?
    Darren M
  • Feb 23, 2019
    Quickly you begin to care, not only about Gianni, but Donatello, Antonio.. and oddly enough, Andrew Cunanan. I don't think I've watched anything so awful, pitiful, and tragic as this incredibly unfortunate story. The writer did a really good job of showing what it means to be gay, and some of the disrespect and meanness was over the top. It's almost as if Versace paid the ultimate price for his success. Everybody loses in this series.
    Michelle C
  • Feb 17, 2019
    This turned out to be so much better then expected
  • Feb 17, 2019
    2/17/2019 The story that shocked the world a couple of decades back, much to the Pinoy's fascination because of the involvement of someone even remotely Pinoy, has finally received its due retelling. Appropriate props to the actors who did a stellar job, most notably Darren Criss who played the star-crossed lead. Penelope Cruz was also a standout as the bereaving sister Donatella. The story was told in such a way that the layers of how Andrew Cunanan became who he was was slowly unravelled, going backwards from the actual murders and ultimately to the literal father of why he became the killer, his equally narcissistic dad Modesto. The storytelling went slightly back and forth in the killer's life story, as well as the other key characters', and culminated with the eventual suicide.
    Marco Antonio L
  • Feb 17, 2019
    I assume this story was vetted for approval by the Versace estate, because he comes across as a truly excellent person. I appreciate that the story gives very moving equal time to the other victims, though that required more screen time for the POS than I cared to see. And did that B-list grifter seriously try to suggest that the POS was reacting to homophobic society? Because I noticed that four out of his five victims were gay. Though I thought this was a very good series overall, I was offended towards the end at the attempt to cast the POS as -- an antagonist to Versace? Creator/Destroyer? No, Creator/POS. I don't care anything about the POS, I'm not interested in his childhood or his disappointments. I just hope his psychopathy didn't get in the way of his fully suffering the moment of his suicide.
    kanaan p
  • Jan 31, 2019
    The assassination of Gianni Versace (2019) Hmm. 2 stars out of 5? O.K. First episode was like the hook, looked like the conclusion to the godfather. Really well done and interesting. Then, it was just kind of confusing bullshit until the middle. They tell their story out of order, so you really have to pay attention to understand what’s happening. Then we come to this scene, my most favorite and memorable scene of the whole series. So this guy, is wearing this leather red suit. And from the back, I thought it was a thriller Michael Jackson suit. And I was like, cool, that’s dope. Then, I saw it from the front, and it turns out it’s just a woman’s outfit. So this guy, is at a house party, and he goes right into the middle of the dance floor and just goes balls out flamboyant gay dancing. Such a powerful, strong, and fun scene to watch. Then this girl, sees this gay guy basically dancing with himself and joins him. She goes all out dancing and they both have a blast. The first episode and the gay dancing scenes were the most memorable. Does this make me gay? I don’t know. Then I thought, I need more flamboyant gays in my life. Gianni Versace: I don’t know shit about this guy. I didn’t even know he was assassinated. All I know they used a really good-looking guy to play him. How do you get a really good-looking guy, make him fatter, change his hair to baldingish, and have him play a less good-looking guy. Like, they couldn’t find a kind of fat guy with balding hair to play Gianni Versace? They had to get a Hispanic poster boy and make him less attractive. I think that’s strike two on my gay scare. I know he’s a fashion guy, big fashion guy. That’s about it. Sad how anyone would want to assassinate a fashion designer. Guess nobody’s safe. People vs OJ Simpson: this was a great fucking show. I enjoyed every minute of it. Relived my childhood. This show won awards. So, I thought, same kind of show, maybe just as amazing. No, not really. I looked at the golden globe winners, so, I thought I’d give this show a shot. Not as hyped up as it looks. Ricky fucking martin: was ricky martin in this show? I fucking think he was. If not, I’m a huge racist. Ricky Martin was my fucking hero in high school. 1st it was the soccer song. Great fucking song. 2nd it was living la vida loca. But the thing I liked most about this guy was his good looks and physique. I think that’s gay strike three. I wanted to be this guy. Then I saw him dancing once, and I was like, that’s kind of effeminate. And the gears in my head kind of started turning. Then I remember an interview, they asked if he was gay, and he said nothing or it wasn’t important or something. If someone thinks your gay, most likely the guy is already gay. Then a million years later, he comes out, but I think the world already fucking knew. He was a really cute kid too. So, they get a gay guy, to play a gay guy in the movies. I guess they got this one right. Now, I’m starting to wonder, if the guy who played Gianni Versace was gay and the guy who played Andrew Cunanan was also gay. Makes you wonder. Andrew Cunanan: so, this guy won a golden globe for playing an amazing gay. Here’s my question, is the actor actually gay? Because how do we know that wasn’t his actual character. Should you get a golden globe for playing yourself? If he’s not gay, he fucking earned that golden globe with flying colors. Regardless, it was interesting to watch. In conclusion: I enjoyed the first episode, the red leather suit episode. If I were you, I’d watch the first episode, the red leather suit episode (whatever fucking episode it was), and the very last episode. You can skip the bullshit rest. Or, you could just fucking skip it. It was educational. I learned a lot about Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan. I think it was worth a watch. Very artistic in how they told the story and how it was shot. Really felt like I was watching the godfather trilogy. https://pokergladiator.wordpress.com/
  • Jan 27, 2019
    Not Quite the original, season two could have been a solid six episodes, but was instead stretched to nine. Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan was worth every minute.
    Tim M
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