ESPN 30 for 30 'Fantastic Lies': TV Schedule, Duke Lacrosse Documentary Preview

ESPN will air the latest installment of its 30 for 30 series, Fantastic Lies, on Sunday night. The documentary will focus on the Duke lacrosse case exactly 10 years after three players on the men's team were accused of committing sexual assault at a party.

In 2007, all charges brought against Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty were dropped by North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. He stated the players were wrongly accused by an "overreaching" district attorney, per Duff Wilson and David Barstow of the New York Times.

"We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations," Cooper said. "We have no credible evidence that an attack occurred."

Premiere Details

Date: Sunday, March 13

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Documentary Preview

In many ways, the Duke lacrosse case provided an early look at the changing way news was being covered around the world. The 24-hour news cycle immediately turned the situation into a nationwide scandal even though the details were still being investigated.

Lewis Beale of the News & Observer noted in his review of the documentary that the story of three privileged white men being accused of sexual assault by a black stripper, Crystal Mangum, created no shortage of talking points: "White vs. black. Rich vs. poor. Educated vs. uneducated."

In turn, it created a situation where the national conversation often got ahead of the facts. Stuart Taylor and K.C. Johnson released a book in 2008 about the entire ordeal entitled Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case.

Now, 10 years removed from the situation, it's a chance to look back at the lasting impact it had on everybody and everything involved.

Connor Schell of ESPN Films sets a high bar for what to expect:

"

Watched the upcoming @30for30 Fantastic Lies again today. It is riveting, as good as the series gets. Premieres 3/13 at 9pmEt on ESPN

— Connor Schell (@ConnorSchell) March 4, 2016"

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated passed along comments from Marina Zenovich, the documentary's director, about the main takeaway from the film:

"

For me this case is about prosecutorial misconduct and false accusations mixed with a prosecutor and police department that did not have anyone to answer to. The issues of prosecutorial misconduct and police misconduct are very alive and very scary for people who end up that in situation. I hope people will say, 'Hey, next time I won't jump to conclusions' but I think we live in a time where they do.

"

ESPN Films Vice President John Dahl told Sports Illustrated it showed how quickly stories can spread as technology has advanced: "What happened in that case speaks to a lot of what we deal with today."

Establishing that connection while taking a look back at what became a highly charged conversation a decade ago makes Fantastic Lies one of the most intriguing 30 for 30 installments to date.