Netflix is set to launch a new three part series titled ‘Depp V. Heard’ that covers the trial with the goal of presenting a neutral overview of what happens when the court of public opinion starts to overshadow reality.
Directed by Emma Cooper, for the first time ‘Depp V. Heard’ will present Depp and Heard’s testimony side-by-side, using 200 hours of live-streamed trial coverage from the mainstream news and citizen commentators on TikTok and Twitter.
‘Depp v. Heard’ also interrogates the role social media played in the trial, raising provocative, uncomfortable questions about how the conversations happening outside the courtroom may have influenced the outcome.
It all began in 2018 when Amber Heard wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post about her experience publicly speaking out against sexual abuse. Though she did not explicitly mention Johnny Drop’s name at the time but after the article was published it caused irreparable damage to Depp’s career as claimed by his legal team who then sued Heard for $50 million in damages.
As a counter, Heard filed a $100 million case against Depp. The trial began in April 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia and unlike most high-profile cases, cameras were allowed in the courtroom. What ensued was a six-week frenzy of media coverage, public speculation, and impassioned social media campaigning arguing one or the other party’s innocence.
‘Depp V. Heard’ will premiere only on Netflix on 16th August, 2023.