Omar coming to a small screen near you as Michael K. Williams joins the cast of Central Park Five, a limited four-episode series that Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay is creating, writing and directing for Netflix.
Central Park Five is based on the true story of five teenagers of color from Harlem—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise—who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. The four episodes will cover the period of time from the spring of 1989—when each was first questioned about the incident—to 2014 when they reached a settlement with the city of New York.
The Emmy-nominated Williams, known for playing the infamous stick-up kid Omar on The Wire as well as Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire, will play Bobby McCray, devoted father of accused teen Antron McCray. He is joined by Academy Award nominee Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Bates Motel)—who will play Elizabeth Lederer, the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and lead prosecutor on the case—as well as Emmy Award Winner John Leguizamo (Bloodline, John Wick), who will play Raymond Santana Sr., the father of accused teen Raymond Santana Jr.
Central Park Five will be executive produced by Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions and Ava DuVernay.
It will premiere globally on Netflix in 2019.