Ryan Murphy’s FX series American Sports Story just cast the lead role to play Aaron Hernandez’s fiancee. As exclusively reported by Deadline, Jaylen Barron, the 25-year-old actress best known for Showtime’s Shameless and Free Rein on Netflix, is tapped to play the troubled late NFL star’s better half, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez. Murphy’s anthology limited series at the network is the newest project from the American Horror Story creator.
Check this: the story was adapted from the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., marking the first run of American Sports Story, which will focus on the meteoric rise and tragic fall of NFL superstar tight end Aaron Hernandez.
Written by Stu Zicherman, the series will dive into the who behind Hernandez, his abrupt death by suicide, and the ensuing infamy that followed. If you forgot, his fiancé Jenkins stood by his side during his trial and subsequent conviction for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd. Then things got crazier when Hernandez was indicted for a double murder while still on trial for Lloyd’s murder. The indictment stemmed from the wild 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. However, ICYMI Hernandez was acquitted on all charges in 2017. Then, only days after being found not guilty, Hernandez committed suicide after he was found dead in his jail cell.
Barron is also known for playing Trish in the Starz adaptation of Blindspotting. Barron joins a cast alongside Catfish Jean, Tony Yazbeck, Lindsay Mendez, and Patrick Schwarzenegger. Josh Andres Rivera will star as the titular Aaron Hernandez.
