Netflix has confirmed the official title and premiere date for Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winner Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five limited series. When They See Us, based on the heart-wrenching true story, will air on May 31, 2019.
The limited series consists of four episodes co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay (13th, Selma). DuVernay also executive produced the series with Oprah Winfrey, Jane Rosenthal, Berry Welsh and Robert De Niro. DuVernay’s co-writers include Attica Locke, Robin Swicord, and Michael Starrbury.
“In 1989, five black and brown teen boys were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit and branded The Central Park Five, a moniker that has followed them since that time. In 2019, our series gives the five men a platform to finally raise their voices and tell their full stories. In doing so, Korey, Antron, Raymond, Kevin and Yusef also tell the story of many young people of color unjustly ensnared in the criminal justice system,” explained DuVernay. “We wanted to reflect this perspective in our title, embracing the humanity of the men and not their politicized moniker.”
The cast of When They See Us includes Emmy Award nominee Michael K. Williams, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga, Emmy Award winner John Leguizamo, Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winner Felicity Huffman, Emmy Award nominee Niecy Nash, Emmy Award winner Blair Underwood, Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner Christopher Jackson, and Joshua Jackson. The cast also features Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.
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
The When They See Us Plot:
“Based on a true story that gripped the country, When They See Us will chronicle 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.”
