TV

What Marcia Clark thinks of the new OJ show

Marcia Clark took front-and-center as the lead prosecutor in OJ Simpson’s double-murder trial, which riveted the country for nine months in 1995. Clark, now 62, has watched the first two episodes of “The People vs. OJ Simpson,” FX’s 10-part series about the “Trial of the Century” premiering Tuesday night. She spoke to The Post’s Robert Rorke about what those episodes got right, what they embellished, and how she feels about the case today.

Clark today.AP

When I first heard this series was happening, I was like, “Please don’t let it happen.” When I heard it was Sarah Paulson playing me, it was an honor. I’ve been a fan of hers for years. So there was a silver lining. And Ryan Murphy directing? I thought, if it has to happen, at least I got the best.

I saw the first two episodes. Reliving the nightmare of the OJ Simpson trial is something I hoped never to do again. It was such a heartbreaking, horrific crime. And the case was out of control from Day One. Then it got crazier.

Every day.

I had to keep reminding myself that the show was a dramatization. The truth was crazy enough. We don’t need to embellish. There was never a discussion of the death penalty [for Simpson]. That’s in the show. We never talked about it. They’d have to do a great deal more than Simpson did [to get the death penalty]. And [District Attorney] Gil [Garcetti] didn’t force me to take [Clark’s assistant prosecutor] Bill Hodgman. I would never have been able to try the case myself.

‘It was such a heartbreaking, horrific crime. And the case was out of control from Day One. Then it got crazier. Every day.’

 - Marcia Clark

They portray us as overconfident, but God, no, we were not. Here’s why: I’d been trying cases in downtown LA for 10 years. The African-American experience with the criminal justice system has always been a fraught one. Now we had a black defendant who was famous. The cops loved him. This is not someone the cops would target. I knew it was going to be a rough case. I knew we had the evidence. Could the evidence overcome the notoriety? I wasn’t going to project that to the press or say, “I’m afraid we’re going to lose.”

When the New Yorker published the article that claimed Mark Fuhrman was a racist who planted the glove, I knew [the defense team] was going to go all out. We knew he didn’t plant evidence. By the time he got to the crime scene, there were already 20 cops there. Even if he was a racist, he’s not suicidal.

So I didn’t get sucked in to the show. I could sit back and appreciate the brilliance of the performers, but I kept coming back to the idea that two people are dead. Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. It was pretty hard sitting through the first two episodes. Whatever you think of [OJ] Simpson, the murderer walked away. No one ​was brought to justice.

And that will never — never — be OK with me.

Marcia Clark still practices law in California and has written several legal thrillers. Her latest, “Blood Defense,” will be published May 1.

“The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story” premieres 10 p.m. Tuesday on FX.