American Crime finale
American Crime premieres tonight at 10pm on ABC Network ABC

American Crime, a new series premieres tonight, 5 March at 10pm on ABC network.

According to ABC, episode 1 will showcase an incident wherein social injustice stirs up tensions in a California city after a shocking crime changes the lives of those involved.

Click here to watch it via live stream (ABC Go); you can also watch the episode online by clicking here.

The official synopsis of episode one reads:

Following the home invasion murder of Matt Skokie - a war vet - and an assault on his wife Gwen, four suspects are brought into custody: Tony Gutiérrez, an impressionable teen who got in way over his head even under the watchful eye of his dedicated and hard-working father, Alonzo Gutiérrez. Hector Tontz, a young man who has lived life on the fringes of society and has made bad decisions just to survive. Carter Nix and Aubry Taylor, two incredibly lost souls whose addiction to drugs and to one another has become destructive and paralyzing.

The show centres around the brutal attack on a young couple in Modesto, California.

Matt Skokie, a war vet, is murdered, and his wife, Gwen, is left unconscious, barely hanging on to life. The crime sends shock waves throughout the community, stirring up tensions across socioeconomic and racial lines.

Oscar winner John Ridley has created, produced and directed the ABC series.

Speaking about the series, he said: "It's not about the police. It's not about the prosecutors. It's really about the family."

The show stars Felicity Huffman as Barb Hanlon, Timothy Hutton as Russ Skokie, W Earl Brown as Tom Carlin, Richard Cabral as Hector Tontz, Caitlin Gerard as Aubry Taylor, Benito Martinez as Alonzo Gutiérrez, Penelope Ann Miller as Eve Carlin, Elvis Nolasco as Carter Nix, Johnny Ortiz as Tony Gutiérrez and guest star Regina King as Aliyah Shadeed.

Watch the promos here:

More about John Ridley