'American Crime' Season 2 To Focus on Rape And Racism, Says Producer John Ridley

"American Crime" executive producer John Ridley recently joined the cast of his Golden Globe-nominated anthology series at the Television Critics Association winter press tour to talk about new stories and characters appearing in season 2.

Season 2's first episode which premiered on Wednesday explores the alleged drugging and rape of high school student Taylor Blaine (Connor Jessup) at a party hosted by a rich African-American teen, Kevin LaCroix (Trevor Jackson). The storyline allowed Ridley to tackle issues of economic status and racial disparities in the school system, which will be apparent throughout "American Crime" season 2.

"There's no system that all of us are more intimately involved in in one way or another than education. There is no system that is more fundamentally important to all of us. We are all affected by education," Ridley said in a statement published by TV Guide. "I'm very thankful that we got to examine the educational system in some degree here: the dualities between public and private and also discovering some beliefs that one or the other is more important or more significant in our society."

Ridley comes from a family of educators; both his mother and sister-in-law are teachers. According to the report, he used his personal experiences to write about the topics that arise in the follow up season. 

"There were things I wanted to say about education, he said. "There were things I wanted to say about things I had witnessed in my family or things that I witnessed as a parent."

Returning cast members include Regina King, who plays Kevin's mother, Felicity Huffman as the school's administrator Leslie Graham, and Timothy Hutton as the athletic coach who might have been involved in the alleged crime.

Watch the cast of "American Crime" in season 2 every Wednesday, 10|9c on ABC.