This true-story Netflix drama was "so heavy" actors were given crisis counsellors
A new Netflix mini-series, When They See Us, based on the true story of the Central Park Five, was so harrowing to shoot Netflix provided crisis counsellors for the cast, actor Niecy Nash has revealed.
The anticipated four-part series chronicles the notorious case of five teenagers of colour - labelled the Central Park Five - who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. It will focus on the five teenagers from Harlem, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise.
Beginning in the spring of 1989, when the teenagers were first questioned about the incident, When They See Us spans 25 years, highlighting their exoneration in 2002 and the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
Niecy - who plays Dolores Wise, the mother to Korey - admitted that filming certain scenes was such a draining experience the cast were provided with a counsellor they could talk to at the end of the day. It was especially hard when the real boys (now men) whose ordeal the series is based on were on set, she explained.
"At the end of the day, there was a number you could call and somebody could talk to you because the material was so heavy," Niecy told The Hollywood Reporter. "And there were often times that the real boys... would be on set because it's their story being told. I'd get off that set and be like, 'I'm not going to make it. Bring the funny back!'
"But you feel so driven to tell the story, so you muscle through because that has to be more important than how you feel."
Jogger Trisha Meili - who was 28 at the time - survived the attack and rape, despite being left in a coma for 12 days. The assault was one of the most widely publicised crimes of the 1980s, according to The New York Times, and was unique in the level of public outrage it provoked.
Director and writer Ava DuVernay aims to shine a light on the men behind the derogatory tag 'Central park Five', and their family and community.
The cast also includes Joshua Jackson, John Leguizamo, Dascha Polanco, Blair Underwood, Ethan Herisse, Caleel Harris, Marquis Rodriguez, and Asante Blackk.
When They See Us will be available to stream on May 31.
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