‘When They See Us’ Is Netflix’s Most Watched Limited Series In The U.S.

Ava DuVernay, Director and co-writer of the Netflix series, When They See Us, has brought to light just how unfair the criminal justice system can be.

When They See Us follows the wrongful arrest and conviction of the 1989 case of five teenage boys in NYC, known as the Central Park 5, who were accused of brutally raping and beating Banker Investor Trisha Melili, a white woman then 28-year old who would be known as the central park jogger.

The case made national headlines when the Central Park boys were convicted of the assault amidst a lack of evidence. These five black and Latino men, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise individually spent between 6-13-years in prison for the wrongful conviction. However, in 2002, the men were exonerated after a convicted murderer and serial rapist, Matias Reyes, admitted to the rape, which was confirmed by DNA evidence.

Linda Fairstein, former head of the Sex-Crime unit at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office served as the main prosecutor on the case. At the time, the boys were all between the ages of 14 and 16 when they were coerced into confessing to the assault. They spent hours at the New York Police Department, with no lawyers and without the presence of their parents.

Now, 3 decades after the attack, When They See Us, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s limited series depicting the crime and those involved in it, has become Netflix’s biggest hit. The Streaming platform tweeted that When They See Us has been the most watched series everyday in the U.S. since it premiered on May 31.

The Central Park 5 exposes the inner workings of the criminal justice system in which DuVernay says, “The system isn’t broken, the system was built this way.”

 DuVernay’s four-part series has created some controversy of its own. Eric Reynolds, a former NYPD officer who arrested two of the Central Park Five, spoke to CNN about what he deemed some glaring inaccuracies in the show. While the show claims the five accused minors were sometimes questioned without their parents present, Reynolds said that the teens’s parents were with them throughout their interrogations, and that prosecutor Linda Fairstein was not at the precinct when the investigation commenced. “All you need to do is look at the videos,” Reynolds said.

When They See Us is now streaming on Netflix