Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five series gets a premiere date and teaser
The Netflix limited series centered on the five black men who were labeled the Central Park Five has finally received a release date. Earlier this morning series creator Ava DuVernay tweeted the long-awaited premiere date, May 31. The tweet also included a gripping minute-long teaser.
When They See Us, which has been in development since 2017, will chronicle the infamous case of five Harlem teenagers Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, who were accused of raping and assaulting a woman in Central Park in the spring of 1989. It will span 25 years, covering everything from their conviction to their eventual exoneration and following settlement. The series comes at a time when racism is imbued in nearly every political conversation and relations between the police and black and brown communities are especially fraught.
“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,” DuVernay said, in a recent press release from Netflix. “We wanted to reflect this perspective in our title, embracing the humanity of the men and not their politicized moniker.”
When They See Us will feature a stacked cast including Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, and many more. It was also produced in part by Oprah Winfrey and Robert De Niro.