The opening sequence establishes that something is not quite right with Hernandez ― he is intensely paranoid, convinced that he and Bradley are being watched by cops investigating the murders of two men in Boston the year before. (Later in the first episode, Hernandez shoots Bradley in the face, believing him to have betrayed him. This is a storyline that will be developed in later episodes, with Bradley eventually testifying against Hernandez at his second murder trial.) Over the course of its first two episodes, “American Sports Story” sets up themes feels it is important to understand Hernandez: We see him as a teenager and are introduced to his dysfunctional family, including his domineering father; we watch Hernandez suffer a concussion on the football field; we see his struggle to suppress (and hide) his bisexuality; and we meet Urban Meyer, the former University of Florida football coach who condoned bad and in some cases criminal behavior by his players, including Hernandez, because he is a coach who wants to win at all costs.

“Wait until you see this team,” Meyer tells the university president at one point. “They’re killers and they’re ready to show the world.”

We’re also introduced to Ernest “Hobo” Wallace and Carlos A. “Charlie Boy” Ortiz, Hernandez’s friends from his hometown of Bristol, Conn. Viewers familiar with the Hernandez saga know that Wallace and Ortiz will play prominent roles in the crime that ultimately lands the Patriots player in prison.

Mark Shanahan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @MarkAShanahan.