"Katrina: American Crime Story" Gets New Source Material Book, Cast Overhaul
by Lesley Goldberg, Lacey Rose
Aug 10, 2017


FX's "Katrina: American Crime Story" is getting a major overhaul.

Days after director Anthony Hemmingway said the third season of the anthology was "stalled," showrunner Ryan Murphy has found new source material to base the series on.

"Katrina" will now be based on Five Days at Memorial, by Pulitzer Prize winner Sheri Fink after Murphy acquired rights to the book, THR has confirmed. Scott Rudin, who previously bought the rights to the book after its debut in 2013, is now attached to exec produce alongside Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Fink is also said to be involved.





That marks a change from the original vision for "Katrina", which was to be based on Douglas Brinkley's book The Great Deluge. "Katrina" was poised to be the follow-up to Emmy darling "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" but was pushed back to come after "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" due to what sources say were issues with finding the story as well as complicated water effects.

Scheduling for the star-studded cast — includes returning players Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney B. Vance as well as franchise newbies Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick and Dennis Quaid — is also said to have been a factor in the delay.





With the new source material, Paulson will now take on the leading role. No other cast members — outside of Paulson — are currently attached to the retooled "Katrina".

Producers, however, are attempting to find new characters for several of "Katrina’s" key roles, including Quaid (who played President George W. Bush), Benning (as former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco) and Broderick (as former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael D. Brown).





Five Days at Memorial explores the aftermath of Katrina at the New Orleans Memorial Medical Center as well as the decision by staff — including Dr. Anna Pou — to euthanize critically ill patients after being trapped in the hospital for days without power. The book explores the attempts to prosecute Pou and two nurses for homicide after an investigation revealed elevated levels of morphine and other drugs in 23 patients who died at the hospital.

Paulson will play Pou. A search is underway to find a writer and showrunner to pen the script for the series, which is slated to begin production in the spring of 2019 and air after "Versace".

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/american-crime-story-katrina-gets-new-book-cast-overhaul-1028311

Sarah Paulson on her "Challenging" 'Katrina' Role
by Jackie Strause
Nov. 2, 2017


"Katrina" was pushed back and retooled. What can we can expect with these changes?

It’s not the same hush-up thing in the way "American Horror Story" is, where so much of the fun is that you don’t know what the twists and turns are going to be. I understand why they keep that under wraps. With "Katrina", I think there is great care and attention being put into this story and how best to tell it.

They’re taking their time with it, and that’s honorable, even though I am incredibly hungry to chomp down on that part. I'm very much looking forward to having an opportunity to do something with a character that some people know.



When I was playing Marcia Clark, there was a lot of attachment and expectation with who she was and a story that had been written by individuals about her. This character [Dr. Pou] is obviously far less notorious. So much less has already been decided about her, so she has more mystery around some of her choices and that’s an exciting thing to broach as an actor.

To figure out where you end up sitting on the line internally, so you know how to play something, is challenging and scary and I just want to get it right.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sarah-paulson-american-horror-story-cult-katrina-ratched-1053919