There are hundreds of original TV shows or movies that are currently being aired on Netflix. Some of them have broken all-time viewing records (Murder Mystery and Stranger Things season 3), while others received heartwarming love from fans and critics alike. There is one series though, which came like a whisper and has now created a storm worldwide for its execution, performance, intense drama, and fantastic direction. There are some who calls that series, The Central Park Five, but the director chose to call it — When They See Us.
If you have not heard about Netflix's When They See Us, let us give you a brief about the show. The mini-series on Netflix takes us to April 18, 1989, when in New York, a group of African-American boys were wrongfully arrested for the rape and physical assault of a white American woman. Those kids were only 13-16 years old at the time. Upon being found guilty (wrongfully), these kids had to serve a sentence that literally changed their and their families' lives.
From the very first episode, we see the lives of the five suspects. The five juvenile males of colour were divided by the prosecutors into two groups for trial. As per the second and third episode, these kids were convicted by juries of various charges related to the assault. The kids, who were not adult at the time of this event, were sentenced to maximum terms for juveniles and the one adult, Korey Wise, was held in an adult facility to serve his time.
When They See Us is created and directed by Ava DuVernay who presented us the truth in the most honest way. She not only showed us the lives of these kids but also made us understand how the life of a family changes when their young son is wrongfully arrested. When the show was in its early stages of production, they wanted a different name for it, but as per DuVernay, the final title depicted the life of not only these kids but also the troubled life of their family members.
Ava DuVernay knows when to make everything silent and when to shout in the most intense scenes. In each and every frame, she has tried her best to depict the life of these young kids who had to serve for a crime which they did not commit.
Lastly, the performance of each and every cast member is simply amazing but it is Jharrel Jerome who won the show for us. This 21-year-old actor from New York made us cry by his amazing portrayal of Korey Wise. It won't be wrong to say that he might even get an Emmy or some other prestigious award for his performance. Korey Wise's story deserved something as good as Jerome's performance and this young actor did not disappoint in a single scene. It will be years before we are going to forget the scene when the Air Conditioner finally works in the prison cell — at that moment, each and every viewer felt the breeze. That was the power of his performance.
All the four episodes of When They See Us are currently streaming worldwide on Netflix. If you want to see something which you will remember for the rest of your life then do watch this series — we are sure, you won't be disappointed.
