ESPN Earning Rave Reviews For Five-Part O.J. Documentary, Which Debuts Saturday

ESPN's "ambitious and exhaustive" five-part documentary on O.J. Simpson, titled "O.J.: Made In America," debuts Saturday night on ABC and is the "best '30 for 30' documentary the company has ever produced," according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Directed by Ezra Edelman, the documentary is "thrilling and uncompromising filmmaking" and will "make you look at the most famous murder case in United States history with fresh eyes and under a larger prism." After the first segment airs Saturday at 9:00pm ET, it "switches to ESPN for the final four parts." Each episode will run two hours with commercials (SI.com, 6/9). In L.A., Rob Lowman writes the film is "often exceptional and riveting television." Edelman "combines archival footage, court testimony and photographs with new interviews of many of the key players in Simpson's life, from childhood friends to members of the jury that acquitted him for murder to police officers and trial lawyers" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/10). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Mike Ayers noted the film as of earlier this week had "perfect scores of 100 on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes" (WSJ.com, 6/8).

PIECE OF ART: VANITY FAIR's James Andrew Miller writes "O.J." is "magnificent" and calls it the "most impactful and important film ESPN has ever made, or commissioned" (VANITYFAIR.com, 6/10). SB NATION's Spencer Hall wrote under the header, "ESPN's OJ Simpson Documentary Is The Best Thing They Have Ever Done" (SBNATION.com, 6/6). ESPN Radio’s Mike Greenberg: “It’s unbelievable. It is as good as anything that we have ever done. It’s exhaustive” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 6/10). In San Jose, Chuck Barney wrote this is "virtuoso filmmaking that serves as both a provocative cultural examination and illuminating portrait of a fallen superstar." Barney: "You won't be able to take your eyes off it" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 6/7). SPORTING NEWS' David Steele wrote "once you watch those first two hours, you're starved for all the rest" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/9). In Buffalo, Alan Pergament noted viewers are "unlikely to see a more compelling, riveting and educational 10 hours of television during the summer" (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/29). In Salt Lake City, Scott Pierce wrote the film's 10 hours "are gripping." There is "no effort to downplay the murders, but it's about so much more than that" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 6/8). In New Jersey, Virginia Rohan wrote there are "so many insights, so much information, and yet, when it's all over ... you'd still watch more" (NORTHJERSEY.com, 6/9). YAHOO TV's Ken Tucker wrote the film is an "amazing viewing experience" (TV.YAHOO.com, 6/9).

DETAILED APPROACH: In N.Y., Andrea Morabito noted the film "culls more than 70 interviews and countless hours of archival footage for the context necessary to fully grasp" the '95 trial that "divided the nation along racial lines" (N.Y. POST, 6/9). The AP's Frazier Moore noted the "epic exploration covers the slayings and the ensuing Trial of the Century in you-ain't-seen-nothing-yet detail" (AP, 6/8). WIRED's Brian Raftery wrote the film is a "rich, rigorous, infinitely absorbing biography of both Simpson and the city that made him famous, all told via eyewitness accounts and remarkable, how-the-hell-did-they-get-this? archival footage" (WIRED.com, 6/7). NPR's Linda Holmes wrote Edelman's "eye for detail is so sharp that the film contains, along with its revelations, a contextualizing wisdom that gives it the feel of sociological exploratory surgery: painful and awful, but fascinating and ultimately in service of a much clearer picture" (NPR.org, 6/9).

SURROUNDING INFLUENCES: ROLLING STONE's James Montgomery noted the film is "as much about Simpson as it is" the city of L.A., making it "unquestionably the most humanistic examination of the trial to date." By "viewing the case through the fractured lens of race, Edelman's goal, in part, was to show all sides of the story and explore the racial divide that still exists in the city (and cities like it)" (ROLLINGSTONE.com, 6/2). YAHOO's Tucker noted the film "excels at framing" the trial in the "context of its era -- specifically, race relations in Simpson's base of operations," L.A. Edelman uses conflicts "between black residents and police under the command of chief Daryl Gates; the Rodney King beating; the trial and acquittal of the accused in that beating and the riots that judgment provoked" to demonstrate how these "became flashpoints that ultimately contributed substantially to Simpson's not-guilty verdict" in '95 (TV.YAHOO.com, 6/9). A.V. CLUB's Noel Murray noted the documentary's first two parts "artfully compare and contrast Simpson's calculated rise to wealth and celebrity with how working-class and low-income black Angelenos were treated in the latter half of the 20th century" (AVCLUB.com, 6/8).