Watch the Powerful New Trailer for Ava DuVernay's Upcoming Netflix Series 'When They See Us'

The series chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit

By

Maria Pasquini

Published on April 19, 2019 11:04AM EDT

Ava DuVernay is bringing the story of five men who were wrongly accused of a crime they did not commit to a new audience.

On Friday, Netflix released the first full-length trailer for the Wrinkle in Time director’s new series, When They See Us. Based on a true story that gripped the country, the project was originally titled Central Park Five and chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit.

The new title aims to break the men free from that moniker.

The trailer shares glimpses into the powerful story, including how the men decide to continue fighting the charges made against them given how the cards had been stacked against them.

WHEN THEY SEE US — Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix

The four-part limited series will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the assault and rape of white female jogger Trisha Meili, the series will span 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

Jovan Adepo (McCray) Justin Cunningham (Richardson), Chris Chalk (Salaam), Freddy Miyares (Santana), Jharrel Jerome (Wise) star in the series as the Central Park Five.

Felicity Huffman will also play a prominent role as prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who led the case against the five teenagers convicted of the brutal rape of a jogger in 1989. The role is her first since agreeing to plead guilty in the high-profile college admissions cheating scandal.

Additionally, the cast features John Leguizamo, Vera Farmiga, Niecy Nash, Joshua Jackson, Michael K. Williams, Blair Underwood, among others.

Alongside the release of When They See Us, Participant Media — one of the production companies behind the new series — will be launching a social impact campaign alongside Color Of Change, Vera Institute of Justice, Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College, and The Opportunity Agenda, among other. The campaign will focus on the criminal justice reform movement.

When They See Us premieres May 31 on Netflix.