March 01, 2019
Netflix debuted a new trailer on Friday for a series on the Central Park Five, the infamous court case of five Harlem teenagers who were wrongly convicted of rape in 1990.
The four-part series, which has been in development since 2017, will explore the men's perspectives over a 25-year time period. Recently renamed "When They See Us," the limited series will begin when Anton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise were first brought in for questioning by police. It will follow their exoneration in 2002 to the settlement that was reached in 2014.
After being wrongly convicted for beating and raping a woman in Central Park, the five men were exonerated in 2002 after DNA evidence proved their innocence. In 2014, New York City paid them $41 million.
Showrunner Ava DuVernay tweeted Friday morning, “Not thugs. Not wilding. Not criminals. Not even the Central Park Five. They are Korey, Antron, Raymond, Yusef, Kevin. They are millions of young people of color who are blamed, judged and accused on sight.” Adding, “A film in four parts about who they really are.”
Oprah Winfrey and Robert DeNiro are exec producing the series. Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, John Leguizamo and Michael K. Williams are some of the stars featured in the series.
"When They See Us" will premiere on Netflix on May 31.
Not thugs. Not wilding. Not criminals. Not even the Central Park Five. They are Korey, Antron, Raymond, Yusef, Kevin. They are millions of young people of color who are blamed, judged and accused on sight. May 31. A film in four parts about who they really are. WHEN THEY SEE US. pic.twitter.com/QQBVqo4TYM
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 1, 2019
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