Is When They See Us woke?

When They See Us has a woke score of 90/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. When They See Us is a four-part Netflix miniseries that dramatizes the 1989 Central Park jogger case. Five Black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested, interrogated without parents or lawyers, tried, and convicted of a brutal rape despite weak evidence. They served years in prison before exoneration in 2002 when the real attacker confessed. The series centers racial identity as the key reason authorities targeted the boys, with heavy focus on police coercion, prosecutorial choices, and media frenzy that treated young men of color as threats by default.

Is there DEI in When They See Us?

The biggest factors in our score are Identity-driven story themes, Creator track record context, Institutional / cultural critique. Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.

TV Show review

When They See Us

Woke Score

90/ 100

Lower is better

Drama

Release Date: May 31, 2019
Age Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: N/A
TV Status: Ended

Availability country

Where to Watch

United States · Last checked 5/15/2026

Stream

Netflix

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8.8 / 10IMDb↗

Breakdown

Factors & Ratings

These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for When They See Us.

Representation / casting choices

Casting matches the real racial and ethnic backgrounds of the 1989 Harlem teens and other figures exactly, with no mismatches to the historical setting or story logic.

20 / 100

Political / ideological dialogue

Scenes include discussions of race and police treatment of minorities during interrogations and trials, but these stay tied to the dramatic events rather than modern activist speeches.

45 / 100

Identity-driven story themes

The entire premise revolves around how the boys' Black and Latino identities made them targets for arrest and conviction in a case lacking solid evidence.

75 / 100

Institutional / cultural critique

The series presents the NYPD, prosecutors, and media as shaped by racial bias and rush to judgment against young men of color, using the 1989 case to illustrate broader systemic problems.

70 / 100

When They See Us

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew