CBS presents 13 DAYS IN FERGUSON, a primetime special looking at the protests, riots and aftermath following the 2014 police shooting of a young Black man, airing Friday, Aug. 9 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*.
The special features Cedric The Entertainer, a St. Louis area native who grew up next to Ferguson, reuniting with his longtime friend, retired lead task force officer Captain Ron Johnson, for an emotional journey, walking the streets of Ferguson in remembrance of the shocking events that took place there a decade ago.
When unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, Jr. was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson following a confrontation in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, the killing triggered outrage, protests and rioting. Assigned to lead law enforcement efforts to defuse the violence was Capt. Ron Johnson, a Black State Police officer with close ties to the community.
The Ferguson riots and protests were a waterd moment for a racially conflicted nation and for these two lifelong friends. The special also includes the first-ever sit-down discussion between Capt. Johnson and the victim’s father, Michael Brown, Sr.
Airing exactly 10 years after the shooting and the uprising that came in its wake, the special features Cedric and Capt. Johnson revisiting key places and recalling how, in a few hours, the confrontation between protesters and police escalated in a way that would grip the nation.
Their frank, emotional and reflective conversations with each other, with Michael Brown, Sr., activists and other key figures in Ferguson, tell a moving story of how the community ultimately came together in a time of crisis.
“The story of Ferguson is the story of America,” says Cedric. “It’s important to tell this story now with my friend Ron Johnson because, with the benefit of 10 years. We can see the lessons learned, the progress made and the road ahead with more clarity. This is Ron’s elegy.”
“If I was going to step up to be a leader, then I had to accept whatever came. The good and the bad,” Capt. Johnson says. “Leadership is an honor. People are critical of leadership and a leader has to take whatever comes with that, because he or has been honored to be in that position. And so, whatever came with it, it was a part of it.”
13 DAYS IN FERGUSON is a production by See It Now Studios and Bungalow Media + Entertainment in association with A Bird and a Bear Entertainment. Executive producers are Robert Friedman and Deborah Riley Draper for Bungalow Media + Entertainment, Cedric The Entertainer and Eric C. Rhone for A Bird and a Bear Entertainment, JD DeWitt for Fear Not Productions and Susan Zirinsky and Terence Wrong for See It Now Studios. Deborah Riley Draper also serves as director.
*Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on-demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live. But will have access to on-demand the day after the episode airs.