Ava DuVernay’s ‘Central Park Five’ limited series gets a new title and a premiere date.
Series helmer, DuVernay, and the streaming giant have renamed the four-part series that tells the story of ‘the Central Park Five’ case that
The news were confirmed by DuVernay herself, who tweeted, “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.”
The release of When They See Us coincides with the 30th anniversary of the case. It stars Michael K. Williams, Vera Fermiga and John Leguizamo. Also starring are Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Kylie Bunbury and Storm Reid, among others.
In a statement released Friday DuVernay added, “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,” DuVernay said.
She continued: “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. We wanted to reflect this perspective in our title, embracing the humanity of the men and not their politicized moniker.”
Watch the first teaser of the series below.
