An adaptation of the “Central Park Five” story is headed to Netflix thanks to Ava DuVernay.
The Queen Sugar director signed on to write and direct a five-part miniseries based on the infamous case that saw five young Black men wrongly convicted of rape in the spring of 1989. This project will be the second documentary that DuVernay has developed for Netflix. Her first project developed for the platform, the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, focused on the criminal justice system and the mass incarceration of Black men in America.
DuVernay said in a statement about the documentary, “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. 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.”
Ava DuVernay is one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. The second season of her highly successful television series Queen Sugar just premiered on OWN.
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