The first trailer for Netflix’s upcoming film American Son dropped on Sunday evening, and it is just as unsettling as the dark and gripping Broadway play from which it’s adapted.
Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale, who were in the original production, play an estranged couple from South Florida whose 18-year-old son Jamal has gone missing after a traffic stop; Jeremy Jordan and Eugene Lee, who were also in the Broadway cast, are police officers attached to their case.
The original play, written by former Miami trial lawyer Christopher Demos-Brown, took place entirely in a police precinct waiting room with events unfolding in real time, and explored issues of identity, implicit and explicit racism, and police brutality. It also had some star power backing, with a long list of producers, including Shonda Rhimes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Dwyane Wade, and Washington herself. From the looks of the trailer (and the IMDb page), Netflix’s adaptation will be a faithful one, as it hews to Demos-Brown’s original script and is directed by Kenny Leon, who also helmed the Broadway production.
American Son will start streaming on November 1.