Composer Kris Bowers admits he was very emotional the first time he saw “When They See Us” because of “how much I felt myself in these characters, and how much I felt like I could’ve easily had that experience.” The tunesmith gave an inside look at his work on Ava DuVernay‘s new Netflix limited series while appearing at Gold Derby’s Meet the BTL Experts panel, conducted by managing editor Chris Beachum. Watch our exclusive video interview with Bowers above.
SEE Niecy Nash interview: ‘Claws’ and ‘When They See Us’
“When They See Us,” which premieres on Netflix on May 31, tells the appalling true story of four African-American teenagers and one Hispanic teen — later known as the Central Park Five — who were wrongfully convicted of raping a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. They were released from prison in 2002 when the actual perpetrator came forward and their sentences were vacated. Though justice was eventually served, “these men lost half their lives, essentially,” Bowers divulges.
In his score, Bowers wanted to approach the story “like a horror film.” Watching the first two episodes, which recount their arrest and trial, “I felt scared, just like these young boys did.” To achieve this, he took different instruments, such as trumpets and saxophones, and manipulated them to “play things that were very dissident.” The “approach to putting it together felt more like free jazz than anything else,” he adds.
Bowers won a Daytime Emmy for his work on “The Snowy Day” (2016). He earned a Critics Choice nomination for “Green Book” (2018), which won the Oscar as Best Picture. His other TV credits include “Dear White People,” “For the People,” and “Black Monday.” He’s currently working on “Dear White People” creator Justin Simien‘s new film “Bad Hair.”
PREDICT the Emmys now; change them until July 16
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominations are announced on July 16. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
