Ava Duvernay Takes on Central Park Five for Netflix Mini-Series

Ava DuVernay is adapting another project for Netflix that is sure to make waves: A mini-series based on the Central Park Five.

If you're unfamiliar with the story that gripped the country in 1990, the Central Park Five were a group of five men of color who were wrongfully convicted for the assault and rape of a female jogger in Central Park in 1989. When the real culprit confessed more than ten years later, the Central Park Five -- Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise -- got their sentences vacated, and they later sued New York City for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress.

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"The story of the men known as Central Park Five has riveted me for more than two decades," DuVernay told The Hollywood Reporter. "In their journey, we witness five innocent young men of color who were met with injustice at every turn -- from coerced confessions to unjust incarceration to public calls for their execution by the man who would go on to be the President of the United States."

Donald Trump famously took out an ad in several newspapers in 1989 calling for the return of the death penalty for these five men. Even decades later during his presidential campaign in 2016, Trump refused to acknowledge the Central Park Five's innocence or apologize for the incendiary ad.

This new mini-series is sure to blow up, given Netflix's success with true crime shows Making a Murderer and The Keepers. The added conflict of Trump's involvement is sure to catch a few eyes as well.