When They See Us#Cast and characters

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/central-park-five-received-additional-3-9-million-settlement-from-new-york-in-2016-report/ |title=Central Park 5 Received Additional $3.9 Million Settlement From New York in 2016 (Report) |website=The Wrap |first=Jeremy |last=Fuster |date=June 9, 2019 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309041754/https://www.thewrap.com/central-park-five-received-additional-3-9-million-settlement-from-new-york-in-2016-report/ |url-status=live }}

• Asante Blackk as Kevin Richardson
• Justin Cunningham as adult Kevin Richardson
• Caleel Harris as Antron McCray
• Jovan Adepo as adult Antron McCray
• Ethan Herisse as Yusef Salaam
• Chris Chalk as adult Yusef Salaam
• Jharrel Jerome as Korey Wise
• Marquis Rodriguez as Raymond Santana
• Freddy Miyares as adult Raymond Santana
• Marsha Stephanie Blake as Linda McCray, Antron McCray's mother.
• Kylie Bunbury as Angie Richardson,{{efn-ua|Bunbury is credited as Angie Richardson though her legal name is Angela Cuffee.{{cite web |title=2 Teen-Agers Are Convicted in Park Jogger Trial |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/nyregion/2-teen-agers-are-convicted-in-park-jogger-trial.html |website=The New York Times |first=Ronald |last=Sullivan |date=December 12, 1990 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614145227/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/nyregion/2-teen-agers-are-convicted-in-park-jogger-trial.html |url-status=live }}}} an older sister of Kevin Richardson.
• Aunjanue Ellis as Sharonne Salaam, Yusef Salaam's mother.
• Vera Farmiga as Elizabeth Lederer
• Felicity Huffman as Linda Fairstein
• John Leguizamo as Raymond Santana Sr., Raymond Santana's father.
• Niecy Nash as Delores Wise, Korey Wise's mother.
• Michael K. Williams as Bobby McCray, Antron McCray's father.

• Omar Dorsey as Elombe Brath, a community organizer and activist who appears in the media to defend the five
• Suzzanne Douglas as Grace Cuffe
• Christopher Jackson as Peter M. Rivera, lawyer who represented Raymond
• 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)
• Storm Reid as Lisa, girlfriend of Korey Wise
• William Sadler as Michael Sheehan
• Blair Underwood as Bobby Burns, lawyer who represented Yusef
• Len Cariou as Robert Morgenthau
• Chukwudi Iwuji as Colin Moore, lawyer who represented Korey
• Frank Pando as Detective Gonzalez
• Alexandra Templer as Trisha Meili
• Jayce Bartok as Detective Hildebrandt
• Dascha Polanco as Elena, new wife of Raymond Santana Sr.

• Reece Noi as Matias Reyes
• Allan Greenberg as Howard Diller, lawyer who represented Kevin
• Isis King as Marci Wise, Korey's sister and a transgender woman
• Logan Marshall-Green as Roberts
• Gary Perez as Manuel Santana

{{Episode table |background=#542D40 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 1

|Title = Part One

|DirectedBy = Ava DuVernay

|WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits|s=Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece |t=Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece and Robin Swicord|order=t}}

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|31}}

|ShortSummary = 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.

|LineColor = 542D40

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 2

|Title = Part Two

|DirectedBy = Ava DuVernay

|WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits|s=Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece |t=Ava DuVernay & Julian Breece and Attica Locke|order=t}}

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|31}}

|ShortSummary = 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.

|LineColor = 542D40

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 3

|Title = Part Three

|DirectedBy = Ava DuVernay

|WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits|s=Ava DuVernay |t=Ava DuVernay and Robin Swicord|order=t}}

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|31}}

|ShortSummary = 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.

|LineColor = 542D40

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 4

|Title = Part Four

|DirectedBy = Ava DuVernay

|WrittenBy = {{WritingCredits|s=Ava DuVernay |t=Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury|order=t}}

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|5|31}}

|ShortSummary = 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.

|LineColor = 542D40

}}

}}

{{Episode table |background=#000000 |title= |director= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

|Title = Oprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now

|DirectedBy = Mark Ritchie

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2019|6|12}}

|ShortSummary = Oprah Winfrey interviews the main cast and executive producers of When They See Us, and the exonerated five.

|LineColor = 000000

}}

}}

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.{{cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |title=Ava DuVernay Teaming With Netflix On Central Park Five Limited Drama Series |url=https://deadline.com/2017/07/ava-duvernay-netflix-on-central-park-five-limited-drama-series-1202124535/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=July 10, 2018 |date=July 6, 2017 |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706211321/https://deadline.com/2017/07/ava-duvernay-netflix-on-central-park-five-limited-drama-series-1202124535/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web |last=Patten |first=Dominic |title=Ava DuVernay's 'Central Park Five' Casts Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga & John Leguizamo For Netflix Limited Series |url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-netflix-series-michael-k-williams-vera-farmiga-john-leguizamo-cast-1202423231/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=July 9, 2018 |date=July 9, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121092514/https://deadline.com/2018/07/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-netflix-series-michael-k-williams-vera-farmiga-john-leguizamo-cast-1202423231/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2019/03/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-teaser-video-debut-date-new-name-netflix-michael-k-williams-vera-farmiga-john-leguizamo-felicity-huffman-1202567776/ |title=Ava DuVernay's 'Central Park Five' Gets Netflix Debut Date, New Name + Teaser |website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Dominic |last=Patten |date=March 1, 2019 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626181611/https://deadline.com/2019/03/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-teaser-video-debut-date-new-name-netflix-michael-k-williams-vera-farmiga-john-leguizamo-felicity-huffman-1202567776/ |url-status=live }}

In July 2018, it was announced that Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Jharrel Jerome, and Jovan Adepo had joined the series' main cast.{{cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title='Central Park Five': Felicity Huffman, Jharrel Jerome & Jovan Adepo Join Ava DuVernay's Netflix Series |url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/central-park-five-felicity-huffman-jharrel-jerome-jovan-adepo-ava-duvernay-netflix-series-1202433373/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=July 25, 2018 |date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725210331/https://deadline.com/2018/07/central-park-five-felicity-huffman-jharrel-jerome-jovan-adepo-ava-duvernay-netflix-series-1202433373/ |url-status=live }} On August 3, 2018, it was reported that Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake, and Storm Reid had been cast in supporting roles.{{cite web |last1=Otterson |first1=Joe |title='Wrinkle in Time' Star Storm Reid, Niecy Nash Among Five to Join Ava DuVernay's 'Central Park Five' Series |url=https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/central-park-five-ava-duvernay-netflix-storm-reid-niecy-nash-1202894840/ |website=Variety |access-date=August 3, 2018 |date=August 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121232310/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/central-park-five-ava-duvernay-netflix-storm-reid-niecy-nash-1202894840/ |url-status=live }} A week later, it was announced that Chris Chalk, Ethan Herisse, Marquis Rodriguez, Caleel Harris, Freddy Miyares, Justin Cunningham and Asante Blackk had filled out the main cast, both as adults and as teenagers.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/central-park-five-chris-chalk-ethan-herisse-male-leads-cast-ava-duvernay-netflix-series-1202443829/ |title='Central Park Five': Chris Chalk, Ethan Herisse Among 6 Male Leads Cast In Ava DuVernay's Netflix Series |website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Denise |last=Petski |date=August 10, 2018 |access-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810235350/https://deadline.com/2018/08/central-park-five-chris-chalk-ethan-herisse-male-leads-cast-ava-duvernay-netflix-series-1202443829/ |url-status=live }} By the end of the month, it was reported that Joshua Jackson, Christopher Jackson, Adepero Oduye, Omar Dorsey, Blair Underwood, Famke Janssen, William Sadler, and Aurora Perrineau had also joined the cast.{{cite web |last1=Patten |first1=Dominic |title=Ava DuVernay's 'Central Park Five' Adds Joshua Jackson, 'Hamilton's Christopher Jackson, Adepero Oduye & More |url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-joshua-cast-jackson-christopher-jackson-adepero-oduye-netflix-1202451841/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=August 24, 2018 |date=August 24, 2018 |archive-date=October 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021140218/https://deadline.com/2018/08/ava-duvernay-central-park-five-joshua-cast-jackson-christopher-jackson-adepero-oduye-netflix-1202451841/ |url-status=live }}

Principal photography for the series began during the week of August 6, 2018, in New York City, with cinematography by Bradford Young. On August 10, 2018, filming took place on Madison Avenue in the East Harlem area of Manhattan.{{cite web |title=Friday, Aug 10 Filming Locations for This Is Us, The Boys, SVU, & more! - On Location Vacations |url=https://onlocationvacations.com/2018/08/10/friday-aug-10-filming-locations-for-this-is-us-the-boys-svu-more/ |website=On Location Vacations |access-date=August 10, 2018 |date=August 10, 2018 |archive-date=June 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601011948/https://onlocationvacations.com/2018/08/10/friday-aug-10-filming-locations-for-this-is-us-the-boys-svu-more/ |url-status=dead }}

On June 25, 2019, Netflix announced that the miniseries had been streamed by over 23 million viewers within its first month of release.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2019/06/when-they-see-us-watched-by-more-than-23-million-netflix-accounts-worldwide-1202638036/ |title='When They See Us' Watched By More Than 23 Million Netflix Accounts Worldwide |last=Bennett |first=Anita |work=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=June 25, 2019 |date=June 25, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626033513/https://deadline.com/2019/06/when-they-see-us-watched-by-more-than-23-million-netflix-accounts-worldwide-1202638036/ |url-status=live }}

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."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/when_they_see_us/s01 |title=When They See Us: Season 1 (2019) |publisher=Fandango Media |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 8, 2020}}{{cbignore}} On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/when-they-see-us |title=When They See Us |publisher=CBS |website=Metacritic |access-date=August 8, 2020}}{{cbignore}}

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."{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/reviews/ava-duvernay-when-they-see-us-1203220510/ |title=TV Review: Ava DuVernay's 'When They See Us' |last=D'Addario |first=Daniel |work=Variety |date=May 21, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621171847/https://variety.com/2019/tv/reviews/ava-duvernay-when-they-see-us-1203220510/ |url-status=live }} 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."{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/when-they-see-us-2019 |title=When They See Us Review |last=Henderson |first=Odie |work=Roger Ebert |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530204032/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/when-they-see-us-2019 |url-status=live }} 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".{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/they-see-us-review-1211524 |title='When They See Us': TV Review |last=Fienberg |first=Daniel |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603023822/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/they-see-us-review-1211524 |url-status=live }}

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."{{cite web |url=http://collider.com/when-they-see-us-review-netflix/ |title='When They See Us' Review: Ava DuVernay's Magnum Opus of a Broken America |last=Goldberg |first=Matt |work=Collider |date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531154724/http://collider.com/when-they-see-us-review-netflix/ |url-status=live }} Lucy Mangan from The Guardian complimented the miniseries, saying it is

{{blockquote|[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.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/31/when-they-see-us-review-netflix-ava-duvernay-central-park-five |title=When They See Us review – Netflix's gut-wrenching tale of the Central Park Five |last=Mangan |first=Lucy |work=The Guardian |date=May 31, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031141447/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/31/when-they-see-us-review-netflix-ava-duvernay-central-park-five |url-status=live }}}}

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."{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/when-they-see-us-netflix-review.html |title=When They See Us Is an Intimate, Sensitive Look at the Central Park Five Tragedy |last=Chaney |first=Jen |work=Vulture |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530175154/https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/when-they-see-us-netflix-review.html |url-status=live }}

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."{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/05/when-they-see-us-central-park-five-netflix-review.html |title=When They See Us Is a New Kind of Must-See TV |last=Paskin |first=Willa |work=Slate |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530232004/https://slate.com/culture/2019/05/when-they-see-us-central-park-five-netflix-review.html |url-status=live }} 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."{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-when-they-see-us-review-netflix-duvernay-20190529-story.html |title=Review: Ava DuVernay's 'When They See Us' gets to the human heart of the Central Park Five |last=Lloyd |first=Robert |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 30, 2019 |access-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531022320/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-when-they-see-us-review-netflix-duvernay-20190529-story.html |url-status=live }}

Armond White from National Review criticized the series in his review, unfavorably contrasting its portrayal of racial tension and violence to period films like Boyz n the Hood and Do the Right Thing.{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Armond |title="When They See Us": A Demoralizing, Sentimental Plea for Revolution |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/review-when-they-see-us-demoralizing-sentimental-plea-revolution/ |work=National Review |date=May 29, 2019 |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719160843/https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/review-when-they-see-us-demoralizing-sentimental-plea-revolution/ |url-status=live }}

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."{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflixs-false-story-of-the-central-park-five-11560207823 |title=Netflix's False Story of the Central Park Five |work=Wall Street Journal |first=Linda |last=Fairstein |date=June 10, 2019 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111173122/https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflixs-false-story-of-the-central-park-five-11560207823 |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2020/03/when-they-see-us-interrogation-defamation-lawsuit-dismissed-ava-duvernay-netflix-1202890647/ |title=Ava DuVernay & Netflix Win 'When They See Us' Defamation Suit; Judge Tosses Battle Over Interrogation Scene |last=Patten |first=Dominic |date=March 23, 2020 |work=Deadline |language=en |access-date=March 24, 2020 |archive-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323235432/https://deadline.com/2020/03/when-they-see-us-interrogation-defamation-lawsuit-dismissed-ava-duvernay-netflix-1202890647/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite news |last1=Moghe |first1=Sonia |title='When They See Us' creators sued for defamation by former prosecutor |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/entertainment/linda-fairstein-suit/index.html |access-date=March 18, 2020 |work=CNN |date=March 18, 2020 |archive-date=March 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318222421/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/18/entertainment/linda-fairstein-suit/index.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Faughnder |first1=Ryan |title=She was the villain in 'When They See Us.' Now she's suing Ava DuVernay and Netflix |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-03-18/linda-fairstein-central-park-five-was-the-villain-in-when-they-see-us-now-shes-suing-netflix-ava-duvernay |access-date=March 18, 2020 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 18, 2020 |archive-date=March 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318222419/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-03-18/linda-fairstein-central-park-five-was-the-villain-in-when-they-see-us-now-shes-suing-netflix-ava-duvernay |url-status=live }} In August 2021, the District Court ruled that some of Fairstein’s claims of defamation and civil conspiracy may proceed to trial.{{Cite news |last1=Stempel |first1=Jonathan |title=Netflix must face ex-prosecutor's defamation lawsuit over Central Park Five Series |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/netflix-must-face-ex-prosecutors-defamation-lawsuit-over-central-park-five-case-2021-08-09/ |access-date=August 11, 2021 |newspaper=Reuters |date=August 10, 2021 |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810160950/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/netflix-must-face-ex-prosecutors-defamation-lawsuit-over-central-park-five-case-2021-08-09/ |url-status=live }} On June 4, 2024, DuVernay released a statement saying that Fairstein had settled her lawsuit shortly before it was to go to trial.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/linda-fairstein-netflix-ava-duvernay-central-park-five-when-they-see-us-settlement-1236025159/ |title=Linda Fairstein and Netflix Settle Suit Over Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five Series |website=Variety |first=Gene |last=Maddaus |quote=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.' |date=June 4, 2024 |access-date=June 5, 2024}} As part of the settlement, Netflix added a disclaimer into the show saying that some of it was fictionalized.

{{notelist-ua|30em}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Netflix title}}
• {{IMDb title|7137906}}

{{Ava DuVernay}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for When They See Us

|list =

{{British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme}}

{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Television Movie or Limited Series}}

{{Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Movie/Miniseries}}

{{Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Series – Long Form}}

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special}}

}}

{{Netflix original ended series (2019–present)}}

Category:2010s American crime drama television series

Category:2010s American drama television miniseries

Category:2010s American legal television series

Category:2019 American television series debuts

Category:2019 American television series endings

Category:American biographical series

Category:American thriller television series

Category:BAFTA winners (television series)

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Netflix television dramas

Category:Television series based on actual events

Category:Television series set in 1989

Category:Television series set in the 1980s

Category:Television series set in the 1990s

Category:Television series set in the 2000s

Category:Television shows set in New York City

Category:Television shows set in parks

Category:Central Park in fiction

Category:Works involved in defamation lawsuits

Category:2019 LGBTQ-related television