Plot Synopsis

AMERICAN CRIME is an hour-long drama series that each season focuses on a different scenario and different crime in a different place of America -- with some of the actors playing different characters across multiple seasons. Season 1 explores what happens when a tragedy in Modesto, California, sends shock waves throughout the community, stirring up tensions across racial lines, and connecting victims, suspects, and their families. Matt Skokie, a decorated war vet, was killed and his wife, Lily, was raped and beaten unconscious. Lily's parents, Tom and Eve, believe there is life in her, but doctors tell them that they are pessimistic that she will ever recover, even if she wakes up. Meanwhile, Matt's father flew from Arizona to help identify his son's body. He and his ex-wife, Barb, haven't seen each other in a long time, and she's still angry with him for letting his gambling addition ruin their family. The two couples have to decide whether they talk to the press. Tom and Eve are not ready, but Barb wants to keep the story front page so the people who did this to their children are arrested. She doesn't know that police are about to arrest four people. The cops find a car at the scene of the crime and trace it to teenager Tony Gutierrez, who rented a car from his father Alonzo's garage to a thug named Hector Tontz. Shortly after arresting Tony, the police also bring in Hector -- with force -- after he uses Matt's credit card. During interrogation, Hector gives up a petty crook, Carter, and cops then burst into the apartment Carter shares with Aubrey, his 20-year-old, white, meth-head girlfriend. The investigation takes a turn when a search of the couple's home reveals a disturbing secret. Told from the points of view of all those involved, this drama examines preconceptions on faith, family, gender, race, class and other aspects of society. Season 2 of AMERICAN CRIME premiered on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT on ABC. The second season is set in the U.S. Midwest, representative of the canvas that is America, at two high schools, one public and one private. Issues of sexual orientation and socioeconomic disparity come to a boil when lurid photos of a high school boy, Taylor Blaine, are posted on social media following a school party. Circumstances become more complicated when Taylor accuses two players on an elite private high school's championship basketball team, Kevin LaCroix and Eric Tanner, of drugging, assaulting and then posting the pictures of him online. The team's head coach, Dan Sullivan, tries to unite the players, while overlooking the dysfunction of his own family. Headmistress Leslie Graham struggles to maintain the school's reputation in the face of accusations of privilege and cover up. Taylor's mother, Anne, remains a steadfast supporter of her son, despite being publicly assailed by the school's wealthy families, principle among them the LaCroixs. Taylor's girlfriend, Evy, deals with racial tension at her own school, led by Principal Chris Dixon. While the two schools at the center of the story are worlds apart in status, the lives of the students and teachers at both become inextricably linked. Ultimately, support for Taylor comes from an unlikely place -- a person who Taylor and his mother have never previously met, and who inhabits the fringes of the online community. AMERICAN CRIME Season 3 premieres Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT on ABC. When a father, Luis Salazar, travels illegally from Mexico into the United States to search for his missing son, he discovers that modern servitude is thriving in the farmlands and agricultural communities. Promised a job and a place to live, these laborers find themselves forced to live in abject poverty. Required to pay for their own food and other essentials, what little money they make is paid back to their employers, and because they will forever be in debt, they can never leave. Undocumented workers aren't the only people targeted by this system. Coy Henson is a young, white American male, estranged from his family and hopelessly addicted to drugs. When he happens upon farm crew chief Isaac Castillo, he takes the opportunity to get his life back on track. But as he desperately tries to free himself of his addiction, he begins to become suspicious of Isaac's promises and aware of the injustices taking place on the farm. Hesby Farms is a struggling tomato farm, forced to cut back on labor costs in order to be competitive in a market that continuously demands lower prices. Jeanette Hesby, who married into the family that owns the farm, begins to learn the shocking truth behind their wealth. Her turmoil will eventually force her to make a moral decision which could put her at odds with the family. Kimara Walters is a dedicated social worker who truly wants to help those in need. Unattached, single and in her forties, she desperately wants to have a baby and is finding it hard to get pregnant, even with the help of modern medicine. When Kimara meets Shae, a 17-year-old prostitute, she wants to help her get out of the business, turn her life around and take a stand against her pimp. Nicholas Coates owns a furniture supply business and is feeling the sting of buyers wanting quality items at discounted prices. At home, he finds himself in a marriage where memories of the past seem much more pleasant than the present. His wife, Clair, decides that she wants to hire and provide a working visa for a Haitian woman, Gabrielle, to be their son's nanny. But darkness seems to embroil this family, and Gabrielle soon discovers that her employment comes with a steep price. Recurring guest stars this season include Cherry Jones as Laurie Ann Hesby, Janel Moloney as Raelyn Boone, Dallas Roberts as Carson Hesby, Ana Mulvoy-Ten as Shae Reese, Clayton Cardenas as Diego Castillo, Sandra Oh as Abby Tanaka, Mickaelle X. Bizet as Gabriella Durand and Tim DeKay as JD Hesby.
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On Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT, ABC premiered the Season 3 finale of AMERICAN CRIME. Kimara advises Dustin to inform the police about the crime that took place in the webcam house, which leads to an unforeseen outcome. Meanwhile, detectives open up a troubling investigation into Clair and Nicholas, who maintain their innocence and contend that Gabrielle is the guilty party. Jeanette must confront and consider the costs and sacrifices of social change.