Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming four-part limited series When They See Us.
Created by Ava DuVernay, who also co-wrote and directed the four parts, the show chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of color from Harlem – Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The series spans 25 years, starting from the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
The cast includes Emmy Award Nominees Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, and Niecy Nash, Emmy Award Winners John Leguizamo and Felicity Huffman, Blair Underwood, Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, Dascha Polanco, 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.
The trailer gives viewers a glimpse into the case based on a true story by featuring interrogation scenes after the female jogger was severely beaten and raped in Central Park, scenes from the trial, which gripped the country, with one lawyer pointing out there is not one shred of evidence incriminating the teenagers, who all stated they didn’t see or hit any lady that night, and the other, who asks the jury to “imagine the frenzy of these teenagers, ripping off her clothes”.
The song used in the trailer is the soulfoul power ballad “Look Back” by Diplo feat. Virginia singer DRAM, released in 2018.
When They See Us premieres May 31 only on Netflix.