ABC and the cast of their newest television series For Life, took over the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on Wednesday (February 5th) to premiere the first episode of the show.
The show which stars Nicholas Pinnock as the lead character Aaron, as well as Joy Bryant and Indira Virma, follows Aaron who received a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. While imprisoned Aaron becomes a defense attorney, and begins serving as a legal representative for his fellow inmates. The series is executive produced by Hank Steinberg and Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and is loosely inspired by the life of Issac Wright Jr.
Wright who attended the premiere and spoke to CNN’s Van Jones during a Q&A following the screening of the premiere episode said, “You know there’s two significant feelings that I have. One is obviously, it’s very surreal, and the other is a very very incredible feeling of elation because I’ve been struggling for decades and I am now able to work with people are all around the world as opposed to one person at a time.” During the discussion, Jackson who is not only an executive producer on the show but also a recurring character spoke about how he and Wright came together through a mutual friend, and how initially the thought was to have the narrative play out as a movie, but Jackson knew the story was bigger than what two hours could tell and the story began taking form as a full television series began to take shape.
Bryant who stars as Aaron’s former girlfriend in the series said about connecting with her character, “Well I have loved ones who were formerly incarcerated. I have two really good girlfriends who had partners who were incarcerated and I remember what they went through. So when I read this script I just really really connected with it in a very organic way.” When Jones asked Bryant a question in regards to her process to which she replied, “Again it was all on the page and it all starts from there and this is such a great time for this show to exist. I think 5 years ago it probably wouldn’t but the timing is right. I mean people like you have been on the frontlines of this issue for so long. And it’s great that it’s getting into the consciousness, it’s getting mainstream attention it’s crossing lines. We can’t predict what people are gonna take away from it, but it’s the right show at the right time and there’s a lot for people to connect with, identify with and learn something from. So I’m just really happy to be a part of it and be a part of that sisterhood you talk about.”
Before wrapping up the discussion Wright talked about how he reversed his own conviction and the struggle he had in doing so, in which he felt his only option was to get a police officer to confess, and reiterated his point how with the show he can hope to help millions who were in his situation.
For Life premieres on ABC on February 11th.