*Stephan James stars in a new series alongside Laurence Fishburne and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Hamilton”).
#FreeRayshawn is a series on the new digital platform Quibi, that tells the story of a young black man on the run from the police.
Trying to prove his innocence he hides out at home with his wife, played by Jones, and their son but the hideout quickly turns into a standoff with the police.
The series is very prevalent in what is going on right now from police shootings and protestors to the impact of social media. The show tells the story mostly from Rayshawns’s point of view and gives people the opportunity to know who he is as a man and not a criminal.
Rayshawn decides to use the power of social platforms to share his story.
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Our correspondent L.Marie spoke with James and Jones about their roles in #FreeRayshawn. She asked them about their thoughts on how social media could help or hurt in certain cases.
“Social media opens you up to the whole world and the opinion of the whole world and the perspective and the mindset of the whole world and that is a very vulnerable position to be in,” says James.
Even though Rayshwan received a lot of support, there were those who saw him as just another black man breaking the law.
During his standoff with the police, he bonds with a black officer played by Laurence Fishburne whose character finds himself conflicted between doing his job and being empathetic to Rayshawn as a black man. Because the show is dealing with such a current and disturbing issue, we also asked the cast about the emotional effects filming the show had on them.
“I think this was a project we really had to give a piece of ourselves to and emotionally we all went there. I think once we were done it was like ok we can let this go now,” says Jones.
#FreeRayshawn is definitely a must-watch and is available right now on the Quibi app. Make sure you download Quibi and watch now!
