Creating a television show that takes on weighty issues like race, class, and gender politics isn’t an easy proposition, so writer John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) approached American Crime like it was an “insane experiment” that probably wouldn’t last.

Except it did. Not only did ABC renew the drama for a second season, but American Crime racked up 10 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series. That kind of acclaim can be heady stuff, but Ridley isn’t taking any of it for granted. And he’s very grateful for the support of one superfan in particular: Stephen King. “For someone who’s the very definition of a storyteller to choose to support our show and what we do, the provocative nature of the way we tell stories, just means the world to all of us on American Crime,” says Ridley of King. “Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottoms of our hearts and the depth of my soul.”

King, who calls American Crime “amazingly good,” gave Yahoo TV a few questions to ask Ridley about putting together his intense drama, and what to expect in Season 2, which debuts midseason. 

Congrats on all those Emmy nominations!
It feels really nice, especially nice for the cast and crew. I really appreciate that people recognize all the work that they put into it. I was very surprised, pleasantly surprised — you can’t take any of it for granted.

So, we have some questions for you from Stephen King. The first one is, “How much pushback did you guys get from the network?” Please note that King wants the answer to come “with a minimum of bulls–t, please.”
I will respond with a minimum of bulls–t! In terms of the subject matter, we got no pushback. This was an area that ABC very much wanted to explore and excavate. They came to me with the subject area, wanting to do a show that dealt with perspectives and race and ethnicity, and do it in a way that is not done — certainly not on broadcast, but I don’t even think on cable.

So, there was never a moment where they said, “Hey, you know, could you change the subject matter, soften it a little bit.” In terms of presentation — the language of cinema that we use — there were a few occasions when they started a conversation. But ultimately, they were amazingly supportive.

Mr. King also wants to know:  "How much [pushback] are you getting in regards to Season 2?“
You know, nobody’s done a show quite like this before, nobody’s done a show with these kinds of perspectives on the screen, and also behind the screen — in terms of representation, we have with female directors, directors of color, and our editorial staff. So, everybody was like, "Hey, maybe this is an insane experiment, and in one way, shape or form, it’s not going to work and we don’t have to worry about it next year.”

There was a film called The Candidate with Robert Redford, and he runs for office, and the point of it is: You’re not going to win, so say what you want and say it the way you want to say it. I think there was a little bit of a feeling of that. Now you get that second season, and it’s like, Oh, we actually did it. I think we’re all hyper-cognizant of wanting to both replicate the things that we did well, but not overstay our welcome or try to hard to do what we did last season. Is there a way to be potent and to be urgent without looking over our shoulders or tripping ourselves up? I think that’s our concern going into this year, not that ABC is coming down and saying, “Hey could you do this or don’t do that?”