Netflix announced a three-part documentary series focused on Michael Jackson's 2005 criminal trial on child molestation charges, with a premiere date set for June 3.
The announcement came on May 20, arriving as the separately produced, estate-sanctioned Michael biopic has crossed more than $600 million at the global box office and pushed Jackson's catalog back up the charts. The new documentary, titled Michael Jackson: The Verdict, takes a different approach, centering entirely on the courtroom proceedings that gripped the public more than two decades ago.
Jackson was charged with molesting 13-year-old cancer patient Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch estate. The charges came more than a decade after Jackson was first accused of child abuse in 1993, a case in which he denied the allegations and settled with the accuser for a reported $23 million in a civil lawsuit. During the 2005 trial, the defense called celebrity witnesses including former child actor Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker, Jay Leno, and George Lopez. The jury delivered a not-guilty verdict on June 13, 2005.
The series will include new interviews with jurors, eyewitnesses, media figures, accusers, and defense team members, examining the case from both the prosecution and defense perspectives. Director Nick Green and executive producer Fiona Stourton said in a statement that 20 years after the verdict, the questions surrounding the trial have not gone away.
"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," they said. "It was time to take a forensic look at the trial as a whole. 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 opens with footage of Los Angeles police arriving at Neverland, with investigators walking through the estate asking if there are any "secret rooms." It also includes Jackson's mugshot taken following his arrest, testimonials from those who were present during the accuser's testimony, and footage of supporters who gathered outside the courthouse both during and after the verdict.
Jackson, who died in 2009, denied all charges throughout the proceedings. The Verdict premieres on Netflix on June 3.
