Netflix has released a teaser trailer for filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s upcoming limited series about the Central Park Five, When They See Us. DuVernay co-wrote and directed all four parts of the series, which is now officially scheduled to begin streaming at the end of May.
The Central Park Five jogger case revolved around five young men of color (four black, one latino) who were arrested and eventually convicted of attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park on the night of April 19, 1989. However, in 2002, the five men were exonerated after the real attacker confessed and his guilt was confirmed by DNA evidence. The newly freed men sued New York City a year after that for racial discrimination and malicious prosecution (among other things), and ultimately settled their case with the city for $41 million in 2014.
Netflix has confirmed the series’ title and set the premiere date for Friday, May 31. The company further released a teaser trailer in the form of a sequence shot that visually summarizes how the story begins. Felicity Huffman’s voice can be heard here as Linda Fairstein, who oversaw the prosecution in the Central Park Five case as the head of the Manhattan District Attorney office. Also featured here are the actors who play the Central Park Five - namely, Korey Wise (Jharrel Jerome), Antron McCray (Caleel Harris), Yusef Salaam (Ethan Herisse), Kevin Richardson (Asante Blackk), and Raymond Santana (Marquis Rodriguez) - as younger men. You can check out the teaser trailer, below.
DuVernay co-wrote all four episodes of When They See Us with Attica Locke (Empire), Michael Starrbury (Legends of Chamberlain Heights), and Robin Swicord (The Promise), in addition to directing. The series’ ensemble includes acclaimed character actors like Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring), Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire), and John Leguizamo (John Wick), in addition to Chris Chalk (Gotham), Adepero Oduye (Pariah), Jovan Adepo (Overlord), and Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time), among many others. Meanwhile, behind the camera, DuVernay reunited with her Oscar-nominated cinematographer from Middle of Nowhere and Selma, Bradford Young.
When They See Us looks and sounds pretty amazing, between the footage and images that have been released so far. The series will be pretty ambitious in its scope and span 25 years in total, while also touching on major events like when Donald Trump took out full-age ads in all four of New York City’s big newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty and demanding that the state execute the Central Park Five. This won’t be the first time DuVernay has addressed the current U.S. president either, as her Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary 13th also included a segment that criticized him for incorporating racist rhetoric during his presidential campaign.
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When They See Us begins streaming Friday, May 31 on Netflix.
Source: Netflix
