Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five series is headed to Netflix
The five-part series, written and directed by DuVernay, is slated for 2019.
Ava DuVernay, the director and co-writer of Selma and director of the upcoming A Wrinkle in Time, is teaming up with Netflix for a limited series about the Central Park Five case. DuVernay, who worked with Netflix on her Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, will write and direct the five-episode series.
In 1989, five teenagers from Harlem were accused and convicted of attacking and raping a jogger in Central Park. After spending years in prison, the five men were released when DNA evidence proved they weren't the culprits. "The story of the men known as the Central Park Five has riveted me for more than two decades. In their journey, we witness five innocent young men of color who were met with injustice at every turn — from coerced confessions to unjust incarceration to public calls for their execution by the man who would go on to be the president of the United States," DuVernay said in a statement. Cindy Holland, Netflix's VP of Original Content, said, "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' timeframe will span from when the teenagers were first questioned in 1989 to their exoneration and settlement with New York City in 2014. Each episode will focus on one of the five teenagers and it's slated for release in 2019.
