Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix
Gerrard Kaonga
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing
Netflix viewers have commended the brilliant series despite the real-world details proving to be difficult to comprehend.
There's no doubting that Netflix subscribers have quite a lot of shows to choose from, which makes it hard to know when you've picked a good one.
But this particular one has proven to be as brilliant as it is difficult to watch.
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When They See Us released way back in 2019 and shed light on a brutal miscarriage of justice.
The four-part drama mini-series is focused on a true notorious case that happened in New York some 30 years ago, known as the 'Central Park Jogger case'.
The show told the story of the five teenagers who were taken to trial and wrongly charged in connection with the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, who had been running in the Manhattan, New York, park when she was attacked in 1989.
The 28-year-old was so badly injured in the assault - sustaining injuries like a fractured skull and eye socket, hypothermia, brain damage, hemorrhagic shock, internal bleeding and a loss of blood - that she was induced in a coma for 12 days.
The TV series touches upon the lives and the families of the five Black and Latino men who were prosecuted and served time between seven to 13 years behind bars for the crime they didn't commit.
Fans took to social media to praise the series, despite it being a difficult watch.
One user wrote on Twitter: "I just wanted to throw up some praise for what I wholeheartedly believe to be an imperfect MASTERPIECE. I mean, yes. At times, it goes a BIT overboard with the melodrama and theatrical hyperbole.
"And yes, it misrepresents and/or leaves out a few details here and there. But it is always in service of telling a truly RIGHTEOUS story.
Another said: "This TV show was absolutely amazing. I have never spoken about a series so much and couldn't recommend it more! ! The series made me cry so many times, it honestly felt like I was experiencing the same thing just watching it."
While a third added: “Absolutely one of the best things I have ever watched in my life.”
With another simply writing: "Very difficult at times to watch, but... it's perfect."
The case rocked New York at the time, and when the suspects came to trial a year later, The New York Times reportedly dubbed the attack 'one of the most widely publicized crimes of the 1980s'.
It wasn't until a decade after the attack that serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to attacking the woman, resulting in the five innocent men having their convictions suddenly dropped while incarcerated in 2002.
The innocent teens, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, became known later as the Exonerated Five, who are now honored with a plaque in the infamous park.
When they were liberated, the five filed a lawsuit against the city in 2003 for wrongful conviction and were awarded a settlement in 2014. The cast, creator and freed five were also interviewed in a companion special with Oprah Winfrey which viewers also recommend watching afterwards.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org