Why Former O.J. Simpson Prosecutor Marcia Clark Is Watching 'American Crime Story' : 'I Thought It'd Be like Reliving a Nightmare' – but 'the Show Is Good!'

"I didn't want to live through it again," Clark tells PEOPLE of the prospect of watching the FX drama

Photo: Coral Von Zumwalt

Marcia Clark isn’t particularly excited to dwell on her time as a prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

So when FX announced The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the lawyer and best-selling author wasn’t thrilled.

“I thought it’d be like reliving a nightmare,” Clark, 62, says in the current issue of PEOPLE. “I didn’t want to live through it again.”

But as Clark learned more about the 10-part limited series, she began to have hopes that it would be worth watching.

“I thought, ‘If if they tell the true story and hit the big issues, then maybe that’s a good thing because there are people who need to know about what happened,” she says. “Then I heard that Ryan Murphy was attached [as executive producer], and he likes to always be about something so that was a good sign.”

• For more from Clark – including why she thinks Simpson “got away with murder” – pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

But the true selling point for Clark was the actress signed on to play her: Sarah Paulson.

“It was such an honor. I’ve been such a fan of hers for years,” says Clark. “I thought, ‘Okay, you’re pretty lucky.’ I don’t think I could have done any better.”

Before the series premiered, Clark got to preview the first six episodes (the fifth airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET) and thinks it’s “amazing.”

“I was really glad and they address the larger issues and pull out the stuff that is important,” she says. “It turned out to be a really good thing.”

Clark’s new crime thriller Blood Defense is available in bookstores May 1 and her best-selling Simpson trial memoir Without a Doubt (featuring a new forward) is available in e-book form now.

The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs Tuesdays (10 p.m. ET) on FX.