How Netflix's 'Trial 4' Examines Sean Ellis' Fight for Freedom

On November 11, Netflix will premiere 'Trial 4', which is the story of Sean Ellis' exoneration. The docuseries' director Rémy Burkel explains how he did it.

Sean Ellis with Director Remy Burkel
Netflix

Image via Netflix/Casey Joseph

Sean Ellis with Director Remy Burkel

One night in Boston back in 1993, Sean Ellis' life changed forever. It all went down in a Walgreen's parking lot, where Boston Police Detective John Mulligan was gunned down in his vehicle. Through a wild set of circumstances, Ellis was at that Walgreen's, but it took 22 years (and three trials) for Ellis to finally be exonerated. Ellis' fourth trial, which was granted back in 2015, is the subject of a new Netflix docuseries, Trial 4, which premieres on November 11, 2020.

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Roughly 24 hours after Netflix released the Trial 4 trailer, we caught up with the film's director, Rémy Burkel, who worked on Sin City Law with Jean-Xavier de Lestrade of the acclaimed docuseries The Staircase (who is also producing Trial 4). H spoke with us from Paris about meeting Sean Ellis, getting Boston PD on camera to talk about this case, and how Sean's story mirrors what's at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as how all of this plays into the importance of elections.  

Trial 4
Sean Ellis with Director Remy Burkel

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