Director Ava DuVernay‘s made some incendiary dramas about race in her time, but perhaps nothing is going to be as is going to be as provocative as her upcoming Netflix four-part limited series called “When They See Us” about the Central Park Five. This definitely sounds like a mini-movie. The series is based on the stories of the five men who were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit.
If you don’t know the story, in 1989, five black boys were arrested in connection with a rap in Central Park. Unfair, sweeping judgment came swift, the media dubbed them the Central Park Five and they spent decades in jail forever linked by that terrible moniker. The Central Park Five even ties into Donald Trump who infamously put out a full page add in the New York papers that year calling for the death penalty of these five young men. Of course, they were railroaded and decade later it was proved they were innocent the entire time—an essential companion piece to watch in advance of the show would be documentarian Ken Burns‘ striking movie “The Central Park Five” which poignantly and heartbreakingly outlines the story from the beginning to the end when they were finally freed.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four-part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
“Whey They See Us” is packed with talent and the series stars Emmy Award® Nominee Michael K. Williams, Academy Award® Nominee Vera Farmiga, Emmy Award® Winner John Leguizamo, Academy Award® Nominee and Emmy Award® Winner Felicity Huffman, Emmy Award® Nominee Niecy Nash, Emmy Award® Winner and two-time Golden Globe Nominee Blair Underwood, Emmy Award® and Grammy Award® Winner and Tony Award® Nominee Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.
“When They See Us” premieres on Netflix May 31.