Netflix has released the full trailer for Ava DuVernay’s upcoming miniseries When They See Us. The four-part series is based on the injustice faced by the Central Park Five, five juveniles—four African American and one Hispanic—who were wrongly accused of raping a female jogger in Central Park in 1989. The series spans 25 years as the teenagers become men and fight their incarceration.
DuVernay is making some of the most exciting work out there right now, from films (Selma) to documentaries (13th) and now to a miniseries with When They See Us. Judging by this trailer, DuVernay looks like she’s made a film that’s not some dusty relic, but like Selma, a movie that takes place in the past but tells us about the present and, if we refuse to learn our lessons, the future. The story of the Central Park Five demands to be told and retold so that people understand the systemic racism and injustice that sent five boys to prison for over a decade for a crime they didn’t commit.
Watch the trailer for When They See Us below. The miniseries hits Netflix on May 31st and stars Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, Jovan Adepo, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Storm Reid, Dascha Polanco, Chris Chalk, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.
Here’s the official synopsis for When They See Us:
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.