Massively successful TV producer extraordinaire Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story,” “The People vs OJ Simpson,” “Scream Queens”) appeared at Television press event TCA to promote his newest FX drama series “Feud,” which is an anthology series like his other recent popular dramas, with each season telling a different story about different characters.
‘Feud’ will follow true-life celebrity quarrels
Like “People vs OJ” label “American Crime Story,” Murphy’s new show “Feud” will tell true-life stories, this time not about infamous crime cases but about fierce celebrity feuds.
One reporter at TCA asked Murphy if he’d like to do a season of “Feud” focused on Donald Trump’s ongoing dispute with, well, take your pick, after which Murphy revealed that his latest feud, that one with Meryl Streep that’s been grabbing headlines, is on his wish list for a future season of the show - and he wants Streep to play herself.
There was a panel with the cast and crew behind the first season of Murphy's “Feud” at TCA and that’s when the Trump question arose. The first season is titled “Feud: Bette and Joan,” and chronicles the infamous bitter quarrel that grew between Golden Age Hollywood actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the 1960s. As the starlets we’re getting on in a young woman’s industry, they each took roles in the film “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” in the hopes of reinvigorating their careers, and they made headlines when they fell out on the set.
Susan Sarandon is playing Davis and Jessica Lange (who Murphy has worked with on “American Horror Story”) is playing Crawford.
Trump/Streep feud might not fill a full TV season
While the President of the United States and a legendary multi-Oscar-winning actress certainly makes for an interesting feud, the story as it currently stands might be difficult to stretch out over ten or so hours of television, since all it really consists of is one speech and a handful of angry tweets, but since Murphy churns out four seasons of TV a year, he’ll probably find a way.
The scathing speech that Streep gave at the Golden Globes (without even mentioning Trump’s name), has grabbed media attention. “There was one performance this year that stunned me,” she said. “It sank its hooks in my heart…that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter.”
This sparked the feud that Murphy is hoping to turn into riveting television, as it riled up Trump, who instantly called her out as “overrated,” “one of the liberal movie people,” and a “Hillary flunky.” It depends how this story develops as it has only been a couple of days, but it seems that Trump’s feud with Rosie O’Donnell would make a more interesting TV drama, since it goes years and years back, long before he was running for office, so there’s much more material for it.
Murphy has had conversations about future seasons
While the first has yet to premiere, Murphy says he has discussed what quarrels the future seasons of “Feud” might cover with Sarandon, Lange, and Mark Ruffalo. Murphy teased that the show’s stories do not “necessarily need to be set in Hollywood, it can be set in the 16th century.” He joked that the most common suggestion he’s been getting in his discussions is the feud between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.