Ah, there's nothing like starting your Good Friday off with a riveting trailer that's equal parts powerful and gut-wrenching. Netflix has unveiled a First Look trailer for Ava DuVernay's WHEN THEY SEE US, an upcoming drama that chronicles 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.
In addition to creating WHEN THEY SEE US, DuVernay also co-wrote and directed the four part presentation. Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey from Harpo Films, and Jane Rosenthal, Berry Welsh and Robert De Niro from Tribeca Productions executive produced the limited series alongside DuVernay through her banner, Array FilmWorks. In terms of scripting, DuVernay carried the lion's share alongside contributors Attica Locke, Robin Swicord, and Michael Starrbury.
The series stars Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, 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, Dascha Polanco, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.
With WHEN THEY SEE US, DuVernay will shed a grim light on how prejudice, misinformation, and a corrupt legal system can jeopardize the lives and futures of the falsely accused. While the events of the film sicken me to my core, I'm very much looking forward to checking this one out, and learning from the mistakes of those who sought to ruin the lives of The Central Park Five. Their story is proof positive that we can and need to do better as a society. If we don't investigate the facts, an uphold fairness when people's lives are on the line, what are we?
WHEN THEY SEE US will be released on Netflix on May 31.
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