NetflixWhen They See Us wants you to know the truth. Netflix's new series from Ava DuVernay, based on the story of the Central Park Five, retells the events of the infamous case involving five teenagers of color who were convicted of a rape they did not commit in April 1989.
The series, which has a powerful new trailer you can see below, chronicles what happened to Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise beginning in the spring of 1989 through 2002 when they were exonerated, and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
The four-part series has a star-studded cast including Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood, Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson and Famke Janssen. Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, 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 round out the cast.
The embattled Huffman, who recently plead guilty to charges of mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, is heavily featured in the trailer. She plays Linda Fairstein, a former New York prosecutor. There was some speculation that Netflix would delay the project due to Huffman's ongoing legal issues, but it remains on track. Her comedy flick, Otherhood, was delayed.
DuVernay created, co-wrote and directed the four parts of When They See Us. Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Rosenthal, Berry Walsh and Robert De Niro are all executive producers alongside DuVernay.
When They See Us debuts May 31 on Netflix.