Prolific TV producers Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan understood that when crafting their acclaimed 2016FXminiseriesThe People v. O.J.
While that 10-episode effort is laser-focused on all things O.J.
District Attorney Gil Garcetti (Bruce Greenwood) opines in the series second episode.
The trials of Lyle and Erik Menendez and O.J.
Simpson are inextricably linked in the annals of true crime history.
Thats because, by the time former football star, actor, and American icon O.J.
Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their father, Jose, and their mother, Kitty, in 1989.
That coverage served as a grim prologue for the media circus thatThe People v. O.J.
Lyle and Eriks first trial ended in a hung jury and mistrial.
Viewers of the show will find many characters and plotlines they recognize from the O.J.
case that help establish both theMonstersandAmerican Crime Storyfranchises as part of the same fictional universe.
But, of course, none of this is fictional.
It all really happened.
Here are the ways in which the two respective miniseries (and real life) intersect.
Robert Shapiro Was a Menendez Confidante and an O.J.
That all change when he got involved with the Lyle and Erik Menendez saga in 1989.
We see these events play out inMonstersepisode 3, with Shapiro being played by Salvator Xuereb.
Funnily enough, this event is also referenced inThe People v. O.J.
to turn himself in as well.
Shapiro represented the Menendez brothers only briefly before turning over their defense to the more accomplished Leslie Abramson.
A similar dynamic played out in the O.J.
trial where Shapiro gave deference to Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, and others.
Though he did remain on the defense team in that instance.
Played by Nathan Lane (who, intriguingly, played F. Lee Bailey inThe People v. O.J.
The real-life Dunne would go on to cover the O.J.
trial forVanity Fairas well.
For that reason, he appears as a character inThe People v. O.J.
Simpson, played by Robert Morse (Mad Men).
Before that he was a successful movie producer.
The Menendez Brothers and O.J.
Indeed they do have a VIP coming in as none other than O.J.
Erik and the Juice then share a moment after, inexplicably, the jailers give O.J.
the cell right next to the Menendez boy.
about the bad advice that Robert Shapiro gave him before adding that he should consider taking a plea deal.
did have neighboring cells and he did share legal advice with him.
get in touch with his eventual lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
Prison wasnt even the first time the Menendez brothers path crossed with Simpson.
As such,Lyle recalls meeting Simpson at the Menendez family home in the 1970s.
It really is a small world for the rich and famous of Los Angeles County.
All nine episodes of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story are available to stream on Netflix now.
