When They See Us is Netflix's most-watched show in the US, announces streaming giant

Filmmaker  Ava DuVernay ’s Netflix series When They See Us is the most-watched show on the streaming platform since its premiere on 31 May. The four-part show is based on the case of five teenagers of colour who were wrongly convicted for the rape of a jogger in 1989. When they are exonerated after 25 years, they sued the city for their time in prison.

Resharing Netflix’s tweet, DuVernay expressed her disbelief at the response the show had received. She wrote: “faints.”

The series features Michael K Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash, Blair Underwood and Christopher Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Omar J. Dorsey, Adepero Oduye, Famke Janssen, Aurora Perrineau, William Sadler, Jharrel Jerome, among others.

According to New York Times , following the release of the show Elizabeth Lederer, the prosecutor on the case had to resign from her teaching post in Columbia Law School, New York City because of the backlash she received. The report mentions that the college’s dean, in an email, wrote that Leader had “decided not to seek reappointment as a lecturer.”

When They See Us is DuVernay’s second project at Netflix after 2016’s Oscar-nominated documentary feature 13th.

DuVernay has executive produced the show via Array FilmWorks with Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Productions. Attica Locke, Robin Swicord, Michawl Starrbury and Julian Breece were the writers along with DuVernay, reports Variety .