With the sanctioned Michael biopic racking up more than $600 million in global box office and sending the late King of Pop’s catalog surging up the charts, Netflix announced its own Michael Jackson project on Wednesday (May 20), the three-part documentary series Michael Jackson: The Verdict.
The series, which will premiere on June 3, looks at Jackson’s 2005 criminal trial on child molestation charges involving a teenage boy. “In 2003, Michael Jackson — arguably the most famous and beloved figure in pop culture of all time — was charged with multiple counts of child molestation, setting off a media firestorm and courtroom proceedings that captivated millions,” reads a description from the streamer. “His acquittal on all counts only further stoked public interest in the larger-than-life celebrity at the center of the trial, interest that continues to persist long after Jackson’s death in 2009.”
Jackson was charged with molesting 13-year-old cancer patient Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch estate in the trial, which came more than a decade after Jackson was first accused of child abuse in 1993; in the latter, Jackson also denied the allegations and settled with the accuser for a reported $23 million in a civil lawsuit. During the 2005 trial, the defense called a number of celebrity witnesses, including former child actor Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker, Jay Leno and George Lopez, to testify on Jackson’s behalf before the jury delivered a not-guilty verdict on June 13, 2005.
In revisiting the trial, The Verdict will focus on key players in the saga, including new interviews with jurors, eyewitnesses, media figures, accusers and the defenders who were in the courtroom, dissecting the case against Jackson from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defense. Director Nick Green and executive producer Fiona Stourton said in a statement that 20 years after the trial in which Jackson — who vehemently denied the charges — was found not guilty, the controversy over the courtroom drama is still with us.
“No cameras were allowed in court, and so the public’s view of the facts at the time were filtered by commentators and presented piecemeal. It was time to take a forensic look at the trial as a whole,” they said. “Anyone interested in the Michael Jackson story should feel this documentary gives them a window into what was largely a closed event and a chance to feel closer to what happened.”
The trailer for the series opens with footage of L.A. police descending on Jackson’s Neverland home, with investigators walking through the residence asking if there are any “secret rooms.” It includes the infamous wide-eyed mugshot taken of Jackson following his arrest, testimonials from those who were there about listening to the accuser’s disturbing claims and footage of his die-hard fans supporting the singer outside the courtroom and celebrating the acquittal.
Watch the trailer for Michael Jackson: The Verdict below.
