ABC
Is ‘The Fix’ About O.J. Simpson? Get the Details on Prosecutor Marcia Clark’s New TV Show
If you’re a fan of true crime or its fictional TV counterparts, then you’re likely already planning on tuning in to The Fix, a new show premiering on ABC on Monday, March 18 at 10 p.m. Executive produced by prosecutor Marcia Clark and inspired by her own life experiences, the show shares some subject matter with the criminal case that made her a household name — and a character in Ryan Murphy‘s TV show, American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson. But what’s the deal with The Fix? Check out all the details below.
Is The Fix based on O.J. Simpson’s case?
It’s hard to deny there are some serious similarities. In the show, a “mega movie star” named Severance “Sevvy” Johnson is accused of murdering his ex-wife. But when prosecutor Maya Travis loses the case in court, he declares himself “an innocent man.” Eight years later, the action picks back up when Sevvy’s new girlfriend is murdered and he becomes a suspect once again. Given a second chance at justice, Maya returns to her work as a prosecutor so that she can put the man she believes is guilty behind bars.
In real life, O.J. Simpson was famous for being a football player, not a movie star (though he did have an acting career). However, he was also accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson as well as her friend Ron Goldman. Though he allegedly confessed in an interview promoting his book, If I Did It, as well as in conversations with the book’s publisher, he had previously been found not guilty after being prosecuted by Marcia Clark and the state of California. Though he later went on to face further legal troubles, including criminal convictions, Simpson and Clark never went head to head once more.
“There are certain trappings that we used to get audience recognition, so we’re all on the same page very quickly,” Clark told E! News. “Everybody understands this is the place setting, this is the table we’ve set, but we take it in completely different directions. So we get to explore behind the scenes … all the personal drama, and the people involved in the case, and what the pending case does to them.
Is the show a revenge fantasy?
Considering the fact that Clark lost her case against Simpson, some have suggested that the show is a revenge fantasy. And while promoting the show, she admitted, “Maybe.” She explained, “I wanted to write The Fix because it really does wrap in all of my life experience. The prosecutor loses a high-profile case against a famous defendant … and eight years later it seems he’s killed again. … She gets pulled back into that world to see if she can bring him to justice. … I lived through a high-profile media circus. … It tells the story of what goes on beyond the TV cameras.”
Is Maya Travis a stand-in for Marcia Clark?
The show may be based on her life experience, but the prosecutor says the main character isn’t based on her. “Though Maya Travis and I share an ‘origin story’ and a devotion to justice, she really isn’t me. I’m sorry, but you won’t learn anything new about me personally,” Clark told TV Insider. “The Fix is a totally fictional imagining of what might happen if the killer who got away with murder the first time winds up charged with murder again — and the prosecutor who lost the first trial comes back to try and bring him to justice this time.” While chatting with E! News, she reiterated her point: “Maya Travis is not me, and Sevvy Johnson is not O.J. Simpson.”
Is it more of a legal drama or a crime drama?
Though you’d think it might be more of the former considering Clark’s past, she says it’s not going to be set mainly in the courtroom. “We like to say it’s a law show that isn’t about the law. It’s about the people on both sides of the case and what goes on behind the scenes. So we go home with the prosecutors and everyone on the defense side. It’s a soapy, serialized roller coaster of a show that has cliff hangers at the end of every episode. And we promise that by the end of the season you will find out whodunnit!” she told TV Insider.
What else has Marcia Clark written?
After leaving behind her days as a working lawyer, the prosecutor pursued a career as an author instead. She’s written the Samantha Brinkman series, crime novels with titles like Blood Defense and Snap Judgment; the Rachel Knight series, including volumes Guilt by Association and Killer Ambition; as well as her memoir, Without A Doubt, which tells her own account of what happened during the O.J. Simpson trial. She’s also worked in TV before in Marcia Clark Investigates The First 48 on A&E in which she looked into cases like Casey Anthony’s in an attempt to uncover new evidence.
Tune in to The Fix on ABC on Monday, March 18 at 10 p.m. to see the premiere.
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