I was assuming that “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders’’ would be a Lifetime movie stretched out to eight episodes on NBC. But the casting suggests something better when the anthology series premieres on Sept. 26. It looks like the network and “Law & Order’’ honcho Dick Wolf are planning something better, perhaps — OK, definitely — inspired by FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,’’ the series that won nine Emmys last year.

Edie Falco is the one to watch, as always, as defense attorney Leslie Abramson. She’s one of my favorite TV actresses, and I have great confidence she’ll be worth watching. Josh Charles, always a standout (“The Good Wife,’’ “Sports Night,’’ “In Treatment’’), will play the Menendez brothers’ psychiatrist, with Heather Graham, unforgettable as Rollergirl in “Boogie Nights,’’ as his mistress. And Julianne Nicholson, or should I say Medford’s own Julianne Nicholson, will play Abramson’s partner on the defense team. As they say, fingers crossed.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.