Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, Kylie Bunbury, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Storm Reid Join Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five Scripted DramaPosted by Wilson Morales
July 9, 2018
Netflix has announced that Emmy Award Nominee Niecy Nash (Claws), Aunjanue Ellis (Quantico), Kylie Bunbury (Game Night, Pitch), Marsha Stephanie Blake (Crown Heights) and Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time) join cast of Central Park Five limited series in supporting roles.
The four-episode limited series was created by Academy Award Nominee Ava DuVernay, who will also write and direct the narrative series.
The new cast join previously announced cast members Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Jovan Adepo, and Jharrel Jerome.
Based on a true story that gripped the country, Central Park Five will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The episodes will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each were first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York.
Huffman will play Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor who headed the Manhattan district attorney’s sex crimes office during the case. Jerome will play Korey Wise, one of the wrongfully convicted five who was charged as an adult in the case and served twelve years in prison before being exonerated. Adepo will play Antron McCray, another member of the wrongfully convicted five, who was released after serving six years in a New York State prison.
Niecy Nash will play Delores Wise, mother of Korey Wise; Aunjanue Ellis will play Sharone Salaam, mother of Yusef Salaam; Kylie Bunbury will play Angie Richardson, sister of Kevin Richardson; Marsha Stephanie Blake will play Linda McCray, mother of Antron McCray; Storm Reid will play Lisa, a friend of Korey Wise.
Nash currently stars in the TNT drama “Claws” and is known for her work in shows like “Scream Queens,” “Reno 911,” and “Getting On.” Ellis previously starred in the ABC series “Quantico” and appeared in fellow ABC show “Designated Survivor.” She also recently landed a role in the upcoming HBO series “Lovecraft Country” and will appear in Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Bunbury starred in the Fox series “Pitch” and recently starred in the film “Game Night.” Blake also appeared in “Getting On” and had roles in shows like “Orange Is the New Black,” “Chicago PD,” “The Good Wife,” and “The Blacklist.” Reid recently starred in the big screen adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time,” which was directed by DuVernay.
Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions and Ava DuVernay will executive produce the limited series.
The limited series will premiere globally on Netflix in 2019.
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