Film Crew Returns To Morristown For Aaron Hernandez Production

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Downtown Morristown might have seen some star-studded appearances on Wednesday, as film crews were in town filming for a new television show.

Film trucks lined the streets outside of Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen and Roots Steakhouse to continue the filming of "American Sports Story Gladiator," an FX series about former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder and committed suicide in prison.

According to the application filed with the Town of Morristown, the production team will be filming scenes all day on Wednesday.

Produced by Ryan Murphy, creator of "Glee" and "American Horror Story," this new show is a spin-off of the FX shows "American Horror Story" and "American Crime Story."

"American Sports Story" is a scripted anthological series that examines a significant event involving a sports figure through the lens of today's world, telling the story from multiple perspectives.

Scenes for the television show were shot inside Roots Steakhouse and at 25 Community Pl. in Morristown in June 2023, before the Writers Guild of America strike and the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA strike suspended projects across the country.

The series stars Josh Andrés Rivera as Hernandez.

Rivera previously played Chino in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story and Sejanus Plinth in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. He also appeared in the first national tour of Hamilton.

Other announced cast members include Tony Yazbeck, Lindsay Mendez, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, who will play former NFL star Tim Tebow.

The first season is based on the Boston Globe and Wondery podcast, "Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc." The limited series will follow the rise and fall of Hernandez, delving into the connections between his career, suicide and legacy in sports.

Morris County has established itself as the setting for several film and television projects that are currently filming or have recently completed production

Recently, Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg were in town filming a scene for a new movie, "Our Man From Jersey." Last spring, "It Ends With Us," which stars Blake Lively, was caught filming scenes in Chatham Borough.