American scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events.

Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research.

It's late July, 1969, in Martha's Vineyard.

Edmund Denise kicks back on the olive green lazy boy reclining chair in his living room.

As the district attorney for Southern Massachusetts, he doesn't get much time to relax,

and even now he's got work on his mind.

On the couch nearby is his friend, the famed trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey. Denise has invited him here to ask for help with a

difficult case. It's been two weeks since the death of Mary Jo Capechnie in a car crash on

Chappaquittic Island and a week since Senator Ted Kennedy pled guilty

to leaving the scene of the accident. Denise has kept his distance from the investigation,

and when Kennedy walked away with probation and a suspended sentence, Denise had hoped that

that would be the end of the matter. But then, just hours after his appearance in court,

Kennedy went on national TV in an attempt

to salvage his political career. And that's when things went sideways. The media, and much of the

public, were baffled by his incoherent explanation for his behavior after the crash, and now

every day seems to bring a new story about Kennedy's history of heavy drinking and reckless driving.

So there's growing pressure on Denise to order a more thorough investigation of the accident,

but he isn't sure what to do, and he's hoping his brilliant friend has some ideas.

Thanks for stopping by. I really need to pick your brain on this Kennedy business.

Anything for a DA in need, and I can't say no to a glass of Glenn Fidditch.

Bailey raises his glass and then takes a sip as Denise lays out his dilemma.

Well, I'm in a real pickle here.

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