Less than two weeks after joining forces in a 2-year overall deal, JAY Z and The Weinstein Company have announced their first project, a Kalief Browder docuseries on Spike.
“Time: The Kalief Browder Story,” is a six-part event series about a young student who spent three years on Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime.
Via Billboard:
The series will debut in January on Spike and feature first-person accounts, archival footage, re-creations as well as interviews with a range of those connected to the story, including politicians, friends and family members as well as social reformers.
Jenner Furst will direct via his Brooklyn-based company The Cinemart. Exec producers include Jay Z, Harvey Weinstein, David Glassner, Furst, Nick Sandow, Julia Willoughby Nason as well as Michasel Gasparro. Spike exec vp original series Sharon Levy and senior vp originals Chachi Senior will oversee for the cabler.
Browder was a 16-year-old high school student from the Bronx walking home from a party when he was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years in jail awaiting trial; two in solitary confinement. The case never went to trial and the chargers were ultimately dropped. After his release from Rikers Island, he took his own life. Spike notes that his story and the challenges it poses to the understanding of American freedoms are at the heart of the event series.
“Kalief Browder is a modern-day prophet; his story a failure of the judicial process,” Jay Z said. “A young man, and I emphasize young man, who lost his life because of a broken system. His tragedy has brought atrocities to light and now we must confront the issues and events that occurred so other young men can have a chance at justice.”
Kudos to JAY Z and the Weinstein Company for shedding light on the atrocities of our criminal justice system.
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