Netflix Releases The Trial of the Chicago 7 Trailer

Netflix has been churning out hits in the film and television landscape for years, with some of the streaming service’s original films even scoring major awards buzz. While the ecosystem of everything has undoubtedly changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, subscribers just got the first look at what could be Netflix‘s latest hit. Netflix has officially released the teaser trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7, an upcoming legal drama set to release on the streaming service in October. The trailer first made its debut during last night’s Sunday Night Football game, and was also available for subscribers to see if they searched for the title within Netflix’s interface.

Inspired by a true story, The Trail of the Chicago 7 centers on the arrest and subsequent trial of anti-Vietnam war protesters in 1969. What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale—were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot, and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is written and directed by The West Wing and The Social Network‘s Aaron Sorkin, who had initially penned the script in 2007 for Steven Spielberg to direct, but those plans were squashed after the 2007 WGA strike.

The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen, Aquaman), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, The Dictator), Daniel Flaherty (Skins, The Leftovers), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Project Power), Michael Keaton (Batman, Spider-Man: Homecoming), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, The Americans), John Caroll Lynch (The Drew Carey Show, American: Horror Story), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables, The Theory of Everything), Noah Robbins (Grease: Live, The Assistant), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies, The BFG), Alex Sharp (The Hustle, How to Talk to Girls at Parties), and Jeremy Strong (Succession, Serenity).

What do you think of the first trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is set to be released on Netflix on October 16th.