The reviews are uniformly positive. Most critics single out the performances, with Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran and Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark named again and again, and several remark that the series is more disciplined and fact-based than they expect from Ryan Murphy. The Guardian goes furthest, calling it the finest thing Murphy has produced. There is broad agreement that the series uses the trial to say something about race, celebrity, the media and the justice system, and that it treats the prosecutors with sympathy.
The reservations are small and mostly about casting. The Hollywood Reporter finds John Travolta the weak link and notes a campy streak; Collider is unconvinced by Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, though Vulture counts him among the strengths. Variety notes minor fumbles without dwelling on them. The spread is narrow: nobody is negative, and the argument is over which performances land rather than whether the series does.