LOS ANGELES: When producers began work three years ago on a new TV series about the O.J. Simpson murder trial, they took a chance on whether Americans would still care about a case that captivated the nation 20 years ago.

Turns out, the timing was right.

“The People v. O.J. Simpson,” a 10-episode drama series starting on the FX network on Feb. 2, sets the 1994 arrest, year-long trial and acquittal of one of America’s best-loved sporting heroes firmly in the arena of the nation’s still troubled history of race relations.

The first image viewers see is TV footage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King.

“The show is about race in America,” said Scott Alexander, one of the show’s executive producers. “It’s about how problems between police and black Americans never really go away.”

“The O.J. case has always remained of interest but it feels more ripped from the headlines now than ever,” he added, referring to the deaths of more than 30 unarmed black people at the hands of US police since 2014. The series also reflects an unwavering obsession with the so-called “trial of the century” that was broadcast live on US television throughout its eight-month duration.

“The O.J. case has now assumed the same status as the Kennedy assassination,” said David Schmid, an English professor at the University at Buffalo, and editor of the 2015 book “Violence in American Popular Culture.”

Starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, John Travolta as his attorney Robert Shapiro, and David Schwimmer as family friend Robert Kardashian, the TV series produces no new evidence about the murder of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.

Instead, it explores the behind the scenes drama among prosecutors, police and the former football star’s defense team. It is also about “the beginning of the 24-hour news cycle, the beginning of reality TV, and gender politics,” said Alexander.