How the Infamous Ford Bronco Chase Was Recreated for New O.J. Simpson Show

— -- Shutting down a freeway is no easy feat. Just ask Ryan Murphy.

The executive producer of "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" revealed that it took him more than a year to convince officials to allow him to close a highway in order to film Simpson's infamous Ford Bronco chase with the LAPD.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and the fact that we got them to agree was a miracle and we spent over a year [trying to get permission for] it," Murphy told Entertainment Weekly. (Unlike Simpson, however, Murphy only shut down the smaller 710 Freeway, instead of the massive 405, where chase actually took place.)

The chase was featured on Tuesday night's episode of the FX series. "It was probably the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever directed because it was so complex," Murphy, who also directed the episode, said. "It was the thing that drove the production team to a nervous breakdown."

The episode depicts the car chase from the perspectives of the prosecutors, defense team, police, Al Cowlings (played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner), and Simpson (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) himself.

Murphy emphasized that it was important to him to show audiences what they didn't see on TV on June 17, 1994. "So we started in the car and we got all of Malcolm and Cuba’s performances first and I wouldn’t move on until we got that. And once we got that we built outwards and did the chase, the aerials and the 200 police officers and all of that," Murphy said.

He added: "On the last minute of shooting on the second day, we got the very last shot we needed. So it was very nerve-wracking."

“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on FX.