*30 years after the Central Park Five were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York, Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay is set to tell their story with her hotly anticipated “When They See Us,” a four-part limited Netflix series set to debut next month.
The launch of the trailer coincides with the 30th anniversary of the incident that sparked this case against five teenagers of color: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise.
“On the night of April 19, 1989, a brutal rape occurred in Central Park, setting off a chain of events that went on to capture the nation’s attention and forever alter the lives of five teens who were wrongly accused of the crime. Thirty years later, When They See Us highlights one of the most shocking and catalyzing instances of injustice in recent decades,” read the press release.
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DuVernay co-wrote and directed the four parts, which will “focus on the five teenagers from Harlem – 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,” the release continues.
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.
The series features an all-star cast led by Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash and Blair Underwood.
“When They See Us” debuts globally on Netflix on May 31.
Scroll up and watch the trailer via the player above.
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