‘The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story’ episode 5 preview: Johnnie Cochran’s showdown

On next week’s all-new episode of “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” there is a different sort of battle brewing in the courtroom. The jury has now been chosen, and we are getting set to come down to business with the case. Both the prosecution and the defense have their arguments in place, and they’re now set to go at one another in a way that could (hopefully) sway the jury. It’s not going to be easy, and both sides will do whatever they can to get ahead.

If there is one thing that FX does want you to know about next week’s new episode, it is that race will likely be a key theme. “The Race Card” is the title for the episode, after all; the official synopsis is below:

“As the trial begins, Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown) and Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance) face off in court. Chris has doubts about Mark Fuhrman (Steven Pasquale) as a witness. The jury visits the crime scene. Written by Joe Robert Cole; Directed by John Singleton.”

How the show chooses to depict the rest of the trial is going to be rather interesting to behold, mostly because there are so many different wrinkles that are at play here. The writers have to portray the uncertainty with the jury, the pressure on the prosecution, and the ever-present glare of the media right as we are starting to get into the internet age. For a variety of different reasons, this was the defining trial of an era; how you encapsulate all of that is difficult to do.

You can view our review for tonight’s new episode of “American Crime Story” by heading over to this link right away. Also, be sure to sign up over here to get some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: FX.)