When They See Us has been one of the most talked about miniseries in a long time & it looks like it has reached a high level of mass appeal. Netflix has announced that it is their most-watched series since it premiered in May.
Netflix boldly announced this on their official Twitter page without any official hard numbers. The streamer faced backlash earlier this year over the Sandra Bullock-starring Bird Box & Ted Sarandos back in April promised to be “more fully transparent about what people are watching on Netflix around the world.” I guess they will do that some other time.
When They See Us has been the most-watched series on Netflix in the US every day since it premiered on May 31 pic.twitter.com/jS8IXIh03g
— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2019
The announcement is well-timed since Emmy voting is upon us & the Ava DuVernay directed miniseries definitely qualifies as a big awards contender. Also, given the response to the miniseries, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was being watched by a large number of viewers. The impact of the based on a true story miniseries has been very significant. By generating cultural and political attention, there is little doubt the examination of the judicial railroading of five young men of color by police and prosecutors in the Manhattan back in 1989, is producing a lot of attention. On June 11, it was reported that former New York County Deputy D.A. and bestselling novelist Linda Fairstein had been dropped by ICM Partners because of her role decades ago in the controversial case. This was then followed by lead prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer stepped down from her long-held role as a part-time professor at the prestigious Columbia Law School. Still at the District Attorney’s office after all this time, the Vera Farmiga-portrayed Lederer made it very clear that When They See Us and the consequential protest by students at the school is what pushed her out the door.
When They See Us is first set in 1989 when five Harlem teens were incorrectly convicted first in the media and then twice in the courts for the rape of a Central Park jogger, famously labeling them “The Central Park Five.” It spans into 2014, when Raymond Santana, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise received a settlement with the City of New York after years behind bars.
