Ava DuVernay Preps Central Park Five Limited Series for Netflix

Ava DuVernay (Selma) is working on a scripted limited series for Netflix about the historic case of The Central Park Five.

Based on the true story of five black and Latino teenagers who were arrested and charged with attacking and raping a white female jogger in 1989, the five-episode limited, scripted series will expose the breakdown of America’s criminal justice system at every phase of the notorious case. Each part will focus on one of the five teenagers from Harlem—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise—who were wrongly convicted. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each was first questioned about the incident, to 2014, when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York.

DuVernay will write, direct and executive produce. The filmmaker previously teamed up with Netflix for 13TH, which explores the history of racial inequality in the U.S., focusing on the fact that the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African Americans.

Also executive producing are Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions.

The limited series is set to hit Netflix in 2019.

“I had an extraordinary experience working with Netflix on 13TH and am overjoyed to continue this exploration of the criminal justice system as a narrative project with Cindy Holland and the team there,” said DuVernay. “The story of the men known as 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.”

“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,” added Cindy Holland, the VP of original content for Netflix. “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.”

King of Participant Media added, “It’s an honor to be partnering again with Ava, a uniquely tenacious and inspiring artist. The events of this shocking story continue to resonate today, and the way Ava has chosen to focus intimately on the five young men foregrounds the human costs of this kind of tragedy. We are looking forward to working with Netflix, Tribeca and Harpo on Participant’s first scripted episodic series.”