A companion special, titled Oprah Winfrey Presents When They See Us Now, in which the cast, the creator, and the exonerated five are interviewed, premiered on June 12, 2019, on Netflix and the Oprah Winfrey Network.[5]
Premise
When They See Us is based on events of the April 19, 1989, Central Park jogger case and explores the lives of the five suspects who were prosecuted on charges related to the sexual assault of a female victim, and of their families. The five juvenile males of color, the protagonists of the series: Kevin Richardson (Asante Blackk), Antron McCray (Caleel Harris), Yusef Salaam (Ethan Herisse), Korey Wise (Jharrel Jerome), and Raymond Santana (Marquis Rodriguez), were divided by the prosecutor into two groups for trial. Each youth was convicted by juries of various charges related to the assault; four were convicted of rape. They were sentenced to maximum terms for juveniles except for Korey Wise. He had been held in facilities and served his time in prison.
They were exonerated in December 2002, when the real perpetrator was unequivocally confirmed. They filed a suit against the city in 2003 for wrongful conviction and were awarded a settlement in 2014.[6]
Joshua Jackson as Michael Joseph, lawyer who defended Antron
Famke Janssen as Nancy Ryan, a Manhattan ADA originally assigned to the case before it was given to Lederer and later oversaw the overturning of the five's convictions
Adepero Oduye as Nomsa Brath, a community organizer and activist who takes on her husband Elombe's cause after his death
Aurora Perrineau as Tanya, girlfriend of Raymond Santana Jr. (adult)
Teleplay by : Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece and Robin Swicord Story by : Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece
May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)
Five adolescents (Raymond, Kevin, Korey, Yusef, and Antron) are shown in their comfortable, familiar residential neighborhood of Harlem, bantering with each other and playing. They are picked up by police in a sweep of the park after several assaults against other users that night, but it is not until later that the injured jogger is found, and pressure increases.
2
"Part Two"
Ava DuVernay
Teleplay by : Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece and Attica Locke Story by : Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece
May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)
The New York City police are shown exerting pressure on the five youths to confess, setting them against one another, talking to them without parents or counsel present, and struggling with evidence. The brutal assault of the jogger has increased pressure on the police to solve the crime and on the prosecutor to take it to trial and gain convictions. Suggestions are made that the timelines, conflicting accounts, and lack of substantive evidence do not support the case, but the juries convict each of the youths of most charges.
3
"Part Three"
Ava DuVernay
Teleplay by : Ava DuVernay and Robin Swicord Story by : Ava DuVernay
May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)
Antron, Yusef, Kevin, and Raymond struggle with being in a juvenile facility. They eventually are released after serving time and have difficulty adjusting to life outside.
4
"Part Four"
Ava DuVernay
Teleplay by : Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury Story by : Ava DuVernay
May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)
Korey is in adult prison and has the most difficult experiences, choosing the difficulty of isolation cells over repeated assaults by fellow inmates, supported by the cell guards. In 2002 the actual assailant confesses, his DNA matches the evidences that fit his account. The convictions of the five are vacated. They file a suit against the city, for which they receive a settlement in 2014. Their later lives, detailing marriages, work, social justice activism, and other activities, are summarized. Four of the five move away from the city to make their lives elsewhere.
Special
Title
Directed by
Original release date
"Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now"
Mark Ritchie
June 12, 2019 (2019-06-12)
Oprah Winfrey interviews the main cast and executive producers of When They See Us, and the exonerated five.
Production
Development
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Netflix had given the production Central Park Five a series order consisting of five episodes. The series was created by Ava DuVernay who was also set to write and direct. Executive producers were expected to include DuVernay, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh. Production companies involved with the series were set to include Participant Media, Harpo Films, and Tribeca Productions.[8] On July 9, 2018, it was reported that the series would consist of four episodes, Bradford Young would serve as the series' cinematographer, and Robin Swicord, Attica Locke, and Michael Starrbury would cowrite each episode with DuVernay.[9]
On March 1, 2019, DuVernay announced the series had been retitled When They See Us and would be released on May 31, 2019. The announcement was accompanied by the release of a teaser.[10]
Principal photography for the series began during the week of August 6, 2018, in New York City, with cinematography by Bradford Young.[13] On August 10, 2018, filming took place on Madison Avenue in the East Harlem area of Manhattan.[15]
Reception
Audience viewership
On June 25, 2019, Netflix announced that the miniseries had been streamed by over 23 million viewers within its first month of release.[16]
Critical response
When They See Us received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries has an approval rating of 97% based on 86 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Ava DuVernay pulls no punches in When They See Us, laying out the harrowing events endured by the Central Park Five while adding a necessary layer of humanity to their story that challenges viewers to reconsider what it means to find justice in America."[17] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]
Daniel D'Addario from Variety mentioned in a glowing review of the miniseries, that "When They See Us immerses viewers in a tale with none of the gaudy fun that true crime often offers. It's an achievement and, given its pride of place on a streaming service despite its difficult subject matter, a worthy use of its director’s star power."[19]Roger Ebert's Odie Henderson awarded the series a rating of 3 and 1/2 out of four stars, noting that "there’s a lot to recommend When They See Us. It does as much as it can to recast the gaze on Black and brown people, eliciting empathy and the desire for justice. It demonizes the right people and demands your fury over the events presented."[20] Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter recommended the miniseries in his review by highlighting that "When They See Us is a rigorous attempt to chronicle an epic legal failure and to help restore a sense of the men as individuals, rather than faceless members of a wrongfully accused collective." Commending DuVernay's thematic and thoughtful approach to the subject matter and content, he adds that the series avoids the "typical triumph-over-adversity narrative tropes".[21]
Matt Goldberg of Collider gave it a very positive review, writing: "The emotional impact of When They See Us cannot be understated." He said further, "I watched The Central Park Five earlier this month, and it's a good way to understand the case and its basic facts, but even though [it] has interviews with all five men, it doesn't come close to what DuVernay does here with this cast, her craftsmanship, and Bradford Young's stunning cinematography."[22] Lucy Mangan from The Guardian complimented the miniseries, saying it is
[A] dense, fast-moving series that examines not just the effects of systemic racism but the effects of all sorts of disenfranchisement (though you could argue they all have that same root cause) on people with the boys' background. The lack of money that leads to inadequate lawyers and mothers unable to visit their sons incarcerated in distant places. The lifetime of fear and vulnerability that causes one parent to encourage his son to sign the confession so they can leave the station and sort things out later. The powerlessness in the face of an authority that doesn't look like you or care about you.[23]
In a positive review of the miniseries, Jen Chaney from Vulture wrote that, "When They See Us, Ava DuVernay's sensitively wrought Netflix miniseries about what happened to those boys, strips away the dehumanizing tendency to bunch them together and instead shows what each of them dealt with individually when they were coerced into giving false confessions, forced to do time for a crime they did not commit, and, eventually, exonerated when their convictions were vacated in 2002."[24]
Willa Paskin of Slate gave the series a positive recommendation, writing that "When They See Us may be making an appeal to our duty to attend to this not-at-all-ancient history—but is not, itself, dutiful. In one aspect, in particular, DuVernay's approach is refreshingly unencumbered."[25] Robert Lloyd from Los Angeles Times praised the series, stating that it is "a story about parents and children as much as it is about justice and race — the series has plenty of contemporary resonance on the latter account — and there is strong work from Niecy Nash, John Leguizamo, Aunjanue Ellis and Michael Kenneth Williams among the older generation."[26]
Suat Ayas, Bobbi Banks, John Benson, Susan Dudeck, Naaman Haynes, Chase Keene, Elliott Koretz, Dawn Lunsford, Jen Monnar, Jesse Pomeroy, Alicia Stevenson, Bruce Tanis and Matt Wilson (for "Part Four")
Fairstein reaction, lawsuit, and disclaimer by Netflix
Linda Fairstein, the original New York prosecutor of the case, wrote of the Netflix series in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that it was "so full of distortions and falsehoods as to be an outright fabrication." The lawyer-turned-New York Times bestselling author said she agreed with exonerations of the rape charges against the five — but said "the other charges, for crimes against other victims, should not have been vacated."[43]
John E. Reid & Associates took DuVernay, ARRA, and Netflix to court in October 2019 because the series called the company's once widely used trademark controversial interrogation technique as "universally rejected." A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit "(b)ecause the First Amendment protects non-factual assertions" and because the plaintiffs did not have sufficient standing to bring the case in the state of Illinois.[44]
In March 2020, Fairstein filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against Netflix, DuVernay, and Locke for defamation based on her portrayal in the series.[45][46] In August 2021, the District Court ruled that some of Fairstein’s claims of defamation and civil conspiracy may proceed to trial.[47] On June 4, 2024, DuVernay released a statement saying that Fairstein had settled her lawsuit shortly before it was to go to trial.[48] As part of the settlement, Netflix added a disclaimer into the show saying that some of it was fictionalized.[48]
Notes
^Bunbury is credited as Angie Richardson though her legal name is Angela Cuffee.[7]
^The Society of Composers & Lyricists (December 2, 2019). "SCL Awards Nominations". Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^ abMaddaus, Gene (June 4, 2024). "Linda Fairstein and Netflix Settle Suit Over Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five Series". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2024. Netflix also agreed to add this disclaimer to the front of the show: 'While the motion picture is inspired by actual events and persons, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue, and names are fictionalized for the purposes of dramatization.'
