Oh boy, where do I start? This has got to be one of the most powerful, chilling, life-altering series I have ever seen.

Being an American History major, I've studied the case in class and when I heard about _When They See Us_ coming out I was very happy that their stories were being told on a mainstream platform but anxious as to whether it would be well-executed. I have to say every single person involved has done an incredible job. Ava DuVernay (creator, director & co-writer) deserves numerous awards, I can't fault this show at all. If you watch the aftershow with Oprah Winfrey (also on Netflix), you'll see how committed DuVernay was to this series and how much it meant to her that the exonerated five had their stories told well. As far as the acting goes, every person on screen is unreal - the kids, especially, were so good that I'll probably watch everything else they will ever star in. Asante Blackk as young Kevin blew my mind as did Caleel Harris as young Antron. Jharrel Jerome as both young and old Korey deserves dozens of awards for this role. Family members played by Michael K. Williams, Niecy Nash and Marsha Blake give chilling performances also and deserve recognition.
I enjoyed watching how the stories played out and found myself intrigued how it would all unfold despite knowing the end outcome. [spoiler] I really liked that they dedicated the whole of the last episode to Korey's story since his experience was so different. [/spoiler] The series should also be commended for its accuracy. For instance, the recreation of the tapes: from what the boys were wearing to the pepsi can on the table next to Korey. Also, I am really happy that they covered Trump's involvement in the case - I thought this might be removed or disregarded in the narrative with him being in the WH. I can imagine if some are unaware of the case prior to this series, they would see this as purely political. Whereas, in reality Trump's involvement was huge - his $85,000 ad calling for the death penalty for the 5 really set off and intensified society's belief that they deserved severe punishment for the crime as well as stirring up the fear of savage, "wilding" black boys.

Without a doubt, this series is an extremely hard watch. I watched it alongside my girlfriend (a black American who's all too aware of these situations) and she wanted to stop watching after the first ep because it angered her so much. The situation that these boys were in was so heartbreaking and watching it unfold makes you angry, sad, frustrated - and for me, want to prevent any injustice ever happening again in America - but you need to watch it even if it makes you uncomfortable. After this series, you will want to fight the justice system yourself because these boys were subjected to extreme cruelty from the police and will never get those years back. The five men appear on the aftershow and it is clearly visible how broken some of them still are - Kevin talks about refusing therapy and simply keeping busy - it is evident the way he talks about life just how broken he is + the whole cast breaks down.

I haven't seen a huge amount of promo from Netflix on this so PLEASE watch this show immediately; it is a hard watch but it is ESSENTIAL viewing for every American.

I was reluctant to watch this miniseries, because I had read a lot about it and I thought, gee, I know how it turns out, so why watch a grim, depressing reconstruction of it? But I realized eventually that I had to give it a chance. So many people loved it so much, and most of the very few who didn’t hated it so much, I figured it must be good and accurate for that kind of response. And so it was.

The acting, to me, seemed superb. (I don’t pretend to be an expert film reviewer; I only know what I like and what seems like quality.) There were some gruesome scenes, as the plot demands, but not as many as I anticipated, and they were balanced by small acts of grace for the five boys.

They did something odd with the plotting, not just telling the story in chronological order, or for each suspect separately, but a combination or those methods. Telling some of the story for the group and branching out to divide the story later on. It is hard to explain, but effective.

I am not going to get lost in the politics of racism and unequal justice that underpins this story. There are good people and not so good people depicted here. Some of the good ones make mistakes, and a few of the less good ones redeem themselves a little. Others don’t. Mostly the movie says to me that it is easier to hope when you have love, and easier to love when you have hope.