You can now watch When They See Us on Netflix for free

19 June 2020, 14:54

Netflix’s ‘When They See Us’ tells the heartbreaking true story of the Central Park Five

By Katie Louise Smith

The award-winning miniseries from Ava DuVernay has been made free to stream ahead of Juneteenth in the US.

Continuing on from its promise to amplify Black storytelling on its platform, Netflix have just made Ava DuVernay's critically-acclaimed series When They See Us available for everyone to stream for free. Haven't got a Netflix subscription? Doesn't matter!

READ MORE: 11 Netflix movies and shows about racism that are essential viewing for non-black allies

DuVernay confirmed on Twitter that three of her projects are now available to stream for free. Along with When They See Us, 13th and Selma are also available for free on various platforms, with the latter airing on both FX and BET today (June 19) in honour of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth, for those who aren't familiar with the date, is a celebration of the emancipation of enslaved Americans and a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

How and where to watch When They See Us for free on Netflix

When They See Us retells the story of five teenage boys (Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana) who were wrongly convicted of raping and assaulting Trisha Meili, a white female jogger, in Central Park, New York City, in 1989. In 2002, their names were cleared after serial rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime and DNA evidence proved they were not involved.

When They See Us explores the various forms of racism which led to the five boys being arrested, and the ways in which the US justice system, media and world at large failed them.

READ MORE: Where are the Central Park Five now? The real story behind When They See Us on Netflix

All four episodes of the miniseries will be available to stream in their entirety.

To find the series, you can type "When They See Us Netflix" into Google and it will be the first search result. Click the link, and away you go. You should not need to log in or have a Netflix account.

You can also find the series right here.

Meet the real men who Netflix’s ‘When They See Us’ is based on

How and where to watch 13TH for free

Also available to stream for free on Netflix is 13TH, a documentary which explores the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States".

The 2016 doc, written by DuVernay and Spencer Averick, features several activists, public figures and politicians from both major US parties, and focuses on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with Black Americans.

As well as being free on Netflix, 13TH is also available to stream for free in its entirety on YouTube.

Find the Netflix link here. Or head to YouTube watch it here.

The official trailer for 13th on Netflix

How and where to watch Selma for free

Directed by DuVernay, Best Picture nominee Selma tells the story of Martin Luther King Jr.'s (David Oyelowo) journey to secure equal voting rights for Black Americans with a historic protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.

Unfortunately, Selma is not available on YouTube or Netflix, but it has been made free to rent and stream on all digital platforms. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, Apple, and multiple other platforms.

On Friday (June 19), the film will air on FX and BET as part of their Juneteenth programming schedule.

Selma Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding Jr. Movie HD

HBO have also announced that Watchmen, starring Regina King, will also be available to stream for free on HBO.com from Friday 19th June to Sunday 21st June

In a statement, HBO said: "As an extension of the network's content offering highlighting Black experiences, voices and storytellers ... HBO is proud to offer all nine episodes for free of this timely, poignant series that explores the legacy of systemic racism in America."

READ MORE: 30 Black movies and shows on Netflix you can watch right now