OJ Simpson trial documentary to air on Court TV

O.J. Simpson has been attempting to carve out a new life in Las Vegas since being released from state prison in October 2017. But Court TV is taking a long look back at Simpson, and “The Trial of the Century.”

The cable network is developing “OJ25,” debuting in January. The 37-part series focuses on every week of the 37-week trial, in which Simpson was tried for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. The trial was held from Jan. 25 to Oct. 2, 1995, with Simpson acquitted on two counts of murder.

The publication The Wrap was first to report the upcoming docuseries.

“OJ25” will coincide with the same week-to-week developments of the trial, 25 years later. Legal analyst Roger Cossack, who added commentary in the original trial, will host.

Court TV, which went off the air in 2008, returned to programming in May.

Jonathan Katz, president and CEO of Katz Networks, which owns and operates Court TV, said in a statement: “Mining the vast Court TV library of more than a thousand trials provides the new opportunity to tell compelling true-crime stories and create captivating content supporting our live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the country’s top current trials.”

Scott Tufts, vice president and managing editor for Court TV, was quoted in The Wrap from the Television Critics Association press tour: “Everyone knows one line from Johnnie Cochran. They don’t know what really happened. For many viewers under the age of 40, this will be their first opportunity to see the trial.”

Pay These Men!!! pic.twitter.com/2FIngXCLGl

— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) July 30, 2019

Simpson has recently activated his Twitter account and has been providing a running video commentary centered mostly on the NFL and also the upcoming presidential campaign. Tuesday he addressed “Twitter World” with a video supporting star running backs Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys and Melvin Gordon of the L.A. Chargers. Both are holding out in contract renegotiations. (Elliott was involved in confrontation with a security guard at Electric Daisy Carnival on May 18, and on July 2 posted that he had met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to explain his actions.)

“This is what running backs have to look forward to in their futures,” Simpson said, showing his surgically repaired right knee. “We have the shortest position careers in the NFL … So, pay these guys!” He also previewed the first of two nights of the Democratic presidential debates, saying, “Sometimes I wish there were no Democrats and no Republicans, just Americans.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.