Ava DuVernay’s ‘Central Park Five’ Adds Three, Including ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Fences’ Stars
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The upcoming “Central Park Five” limited series at Netflix has added three more actors to its cast.
Felicity Huffman, Jharrel Jerome, and Jovan Adepo have all signed on to the four-episode series, which will be written and directed by Ava DuVernay. They join previously announced cast members Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, and John Leguizamo.
Based on a true story, the series will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color who were convicted of a rape they did not commit.
Huffman will play Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor who headed the Manhattan district attorney’s sex crimes office during the case. Jerome will play Korey Wise, one of the wrongfully convicted five who was charged as an adult in the case and served twelve years in prison before being exonerated. Adepo will play Antron McCray, another member of the wrongfully convicted five, who was released after serving six years in a New York State prison.
Jerome made his feature film debut in Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award-winning film “Moonlight.” Other film credits include “Monster” and “First Watch,” and is currently a series regular on AT&T Audience Network’s drama series “Mr. Mercedes.” He is repped by Kipperman Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.
Adepo made his studio feature film debut opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in “Fences.” He is also known for his work on HBO’s critically-acclaimed series “The Leftovers” as well as Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!” He is set to star in the upcoming Paramount film “Overlord” and the Facebook Watch series “Sorry for Your Loss.” He is repped by Gersh and Powerline Entertainment.
Huffman earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance in “Transamerica” and received an Emmy for her role on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.” More recently, Huffman received an Emmy nomination for her role in the third season of John Ridley’s ABC drama series “American Crime.” She is repped by CAA.
Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media will executive produce “” along with Oprah Winfrey via Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh of Tribeca Productions, with DuVernay also executive producing.
“Central Park Five” will premiere on Netflix in 2019.
