Netflix will team with filmmaker Ava DuVernay to develop a limited series depicting the controversial Central Park Five case, the OTT service announced Thursday.
Each part of the five-episode series, which will launch on Netflix in 2019, will focus on one of the five teenagers from Harlem – Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise – who wrongly convicted of raping Trisha Meili in New York's Central Park in 1989. The series will span from when each were first questioned about the incident to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York.
“This is one of the most talked-about cases of our time and Ava’s passionate vision and masterful direction will bring the human stories behind the headlines to life in this series,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix in a statement “After powerfully reframing the public conversation about criminality and injustice in 13TH, Ava now turns a new lens to a case that exposes deep flaws in our criminal justice system.”
The series will be executive produced by Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions, and DuVernay, said Netflix.
