Joshua Jackson (The Affair), Blair Underwood (In Treatment, Quantico), and Famke Janssen (The Blacklist) have joined the cast of Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five limited series. Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), Adepero Oduye (12 Years a Slave), Omar Dorsey (Queen Sugar, Selma), Aurora Perrineau (Into the Dark), and William Sadler (Power) have also signed on to the dramatic series based on true events.
Oscar nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay (13th) is writing and directing the four-part limited series. DuVernay will executive produce along with Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Rosenthal, and Berry Welsh.
Netflix is targeting a 2019 release date.
The Central Park Five cast and characters, courtesy of Netflix:
- Joshua Jackson will play Mickey Joseph, lawyer for Antron McCray.
- Christopher Jackson will play Peter Rivera, lawyer for Raymond Santana, Jr.
- Blair Underwood will play Bobby Burns, lawyer for Yusef Salaam.
- Omar Dorsey and Adepero Oduye will play Elombre Brath and Nomsa Brath respectively, the husband and wife who were influential community leaders and activists in Harlem during the time of case.
- Famke Janssen will play Nancy Ryan, a Manhattan prosecutor who led the reinvestigation of the Central Park Five case.
- Aurora Perrineau will play Tanya, the girlfriend of Raymond Santana, Jr. after he was released from prison.
- William Sadler will play Michael Sheehan, a New York City detective.
- Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winner Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) will play Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor who headed the Manhattan district attorney’s sex crimes office during the case.
- Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight) will play Korey Wise, one of the wrongfully convicted five who was charged as an adult in the case and served twelve years in prison before being exonerated.
- Jovan Adepo (Fences) will play the exonerated Antron McCray, another member of the wrongfully convicted five, who was released after serving six years in a New York State prison.
- Two-time Emmy Award nominee Michael K. Williams (Bessie, The Night Of) will play Bobby McCray, devoted father of accused teen Antron McCray.
- Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) will play Elizabeth Lederer, the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case.
- Emmy Award winner John Leguizamo (John Leguizamo: Freak) will play Raymond Santana Sr., the father of accused teen Raymond Santana Jr.
- Niecy Nash will play Delores Wise, mother of Korey Wise.
- Aunjanue Ellis will play Sharone Salaam, mother of Yusef Salaam.
- Kylie Bunbury will play Angie Richardson, sister of Kevin Richardson.
- Marsha Stephanie Blake will play Linda McCray, mother of Antron McCray.
- Storm Reid will play Lisa, a friend of Korey Wise.
The Plot: Based on a true story that gripped the country, the limited series will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color 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. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each were first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York.
