‘Shots Fired’ Star Yohance Myles On The Show’s Ties To Trayvon Martin, How It’s Inspiring Important Conversations

The shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 turned all eyes on the United States justice system. Five years and dozens of racially charged murders later, Fox is exploring the tragic phenomenon with its new series, “Shots Fired.”

The show is set in a fictional North Carolina town shaken to it’s core when a white college student is killed by a black police officer. Tensions rise as locals grow upset that the incident’s garnering more attention than the murder of a black teen. Authorities dive deep into both cases, uncovering potential corruption and scandal.

If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because “Shots Fired” creators drew from real events — specifically the trial that followed Martin’s death. Yohance Myles, who plays Leon Grant on the show, told International Business Times that producers tried to make the series as authentic as possible. Though the situations are fictional, they worked hard to make the process feel real.

“One of the things that producers did is research for the show,” he told IBT. “When you start talking about fictional things it’s like, ‘Well, how close to the authenticity of this are we?’ Their research included [contacting] former Attorney General Eric Holder and former Los Angeles Police Department detective Michelle Alexander. They actually connected to individuals who did these jobs.”

In reaching out, “Shots Fired” creators were able to better explore various perspectives. Myles said the thing that sets this show apart is the way the story’s told. Viewers see each case from the point of view of the victim’s family, witnesses and those close to them, law enforcement and investigators.

The show goes into the world of the mothers, it gives us a lens of what happens to the officer who commits the shooting. We get a chance to see what happens in his life as they investigate. We deal with this justice system that has to do their jobs, so we get a chance to follow along with how this holds up in this particular community.

The professor/actor believes this is what makes “Shots Fired” different from seeing shootings in the news. While this type of violence and injustice has become commonplace, consumers get only pieces of each story. The varying perspectives allow and audiences to connect to “Shots Fired” on a different level.

“These things do happen every day. We only see what’s reported. We want to feel connected to what we see on the news, but what about the mothers? What about the officers?” He questioned. “I’m glad Fox put those perspectives in.”

Allowing viewers to connect to each story is something Myles, and his co-stars, hope will “spark a healing process and continue a dialogue.” While he’s aware “Shots Fired” can’t “solve any problems,” Myles believes it will be an eye opener. He says social media has been a useful platform for these conversations, but also allows users to curate a bubble.

“Social media is great, it gives us the ability to witness and touch the world right there in our homes. At the same time it’s very opinionated and can make certain individuals very selfish and look at things from their own perspectives,” Myles explained. “Having a series that can channel viewers to look at the different lenses is important. This is something you want to share with your children. Sit down and talk about this, see where it goes.”

As both a parent and a teacher, that’s something that was important to the “Shots Fired” star. He told IBT he worries about raising his three sons in America’s hostile political, social and racial climate. Being on the show and watching it with his boys has helped him have difficult conversations with them.

“It’s a subject matter that I can share with my three sons. I’m an African American male — one of my fears is raising my sons in such troubling times and finding ways to help them understand who they are, how the system works and how to go about being productive citizens with an awareness of how things are,” he said.

Myles thinks the show can reach people in the All Lives Matter crowd, allowing them to get a feel for the specific issues people of color face. “Shots Fired” illustrates the tensions between members of the black community and law enforcement. It also shows the work that needs to be done to fix the broken relationship.

“[‘Shots Fired’] helps us understand the different levels of trust that we have to continue to build between the community and law enforcement,” he told IBT.

In addition to unique perspective, “Shots Fired” takes viewers through the investigation from beginning to end. This includes the autopsy, information most people aren’t privy to unless they’re connected to the victim. Myles said this is a “very important” part of the investigation, often helping to decide the outcome of such cases, which makes it all the more interesting to see in the show.

“We have an opportunity in this show to go along with the autopsy. Most times those that are involved only get to deal with that unless you live in the city where it happens,” he said. “The rest of us are left to watch the news.”

“Shots Fired” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox.