Hillary Clinton already lived through her husband Bill Clinton’s infamous infidelity scandal once in 1998. So it’s highly doubtful the former secretary of state will want to see it again when FX’s new series “Impeachment: American Crime Story” hits the small screen, according to its showrunner.
The series’ executive producer Brad Simpson revealed at the virtual Television Critics Association panel that he doesn’t think Hillary, 73, will watch the 10-part drama series when it airs on Sept. 7.
“No one, as far as we know, from the Clinton camp has seen this series,” Simpson said. “Of course, I’m curious what they would think. I don’t imagine she will watch, no matter how emphatic we are to her.”
“Impeachment,” which released a new trailer Friday, will chronicle Clinton’s presidency, his relationship with his wife and the sex scandal that soured the final days of his tenure. The series stars Clive Owen as Bill, Edie Falco as Hillary and Beanie Feldstein as White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
The highly anticipated series will also not depict any sex scenes between Lewinsky and Clinton. The only intimate interaction that viewers will get to see is a simple kiss between the characters. According to writer Sarah Burgess, the reason behind the creative decision is due to the fact that the public already knows what went down between the two.
“It was always my instinct to write it the way you saw it,” Burgess told the Wrap. “Because the graphic sexual detail was the headline in 1998, it felt like… first of all, something that much of the audience already knew.”
Executive producer Nina Jacobson added that the show’s choice to keep the physical intimacy of Clinton and Lewinsky’s relationship off-screen was always in the cards.
“I think that was always the intention. And you’ll see, as you see the rest of the season, that we are very mindful of what we show when, and why, and what we don’t show, and why,” Jacobson said. “And it definitely was a very calculated instinct and I think a really good one from Sarah and something that I think we knew early, early on, collectively, that we wanted to approach it the way it ultimately is approached. But also let the series speak to that as you get to the last episodes.”
As for Feldstein, 28, she felt like a “bodyguard” for the real-life Lewinsky, 48. During the Television Critics Association press tour panel, the “Booksmart” star said: “Honestly, we had more of a friendship than we did a working relationship. She was really giving with me in that she would answer anything I had questions about, but it was easier and more useful for me to just kind of be around her spirit.”