The Assassination of Gianni Versace failed to catch on partly because it's hard to watch somebody with no redeeming qualities

The Ringer

The second American Crime Story series was bound to disappoint following The People v. O.J. Simpson, says Alison Herman. But Versace isn't your typical Ryan Murphy series. "Versace is straight-faced where Murphy’s house style is smirking, sorrowful where his oeuvre leans dramedic," she says. "Watching one disturbed individual’s vanity, entitlement, and megalomania claim life after life makes for an excruciating marathon of violence and pain, rarely leavened by the campy humor that runs throughout Murphy’s other work." She adds that "Versace’s structural choices make for a confounding and even alienating viewing experience with a vacuum at its center. There’s a reason so many shows give in to the temptation of valorizing their monsters: It’s hard to get an audience on board with spending hours on hours, week after week with a person who has no redeeming qualities, however fascinating their pathology or sympathetic their supporting cast." ALSO: Versace feels like it's running out of steam as it approaches its finale.