*Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo lead the cast of the new Hulu series “UnPrisoned,” which is inspired by the life of series creator and executive producer Tracy McMillan.
“UnPrisoned,” per the official synopsis, “is a half-hour comedy about a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son. Kerry Washington plays Paige Alexander, a marriage and family therapist, and mom to 16-year-old Finn (Faly Rakotohavana). Delroy Lindo stars as Edwin Alexander, Paige’s father, who has recently been released from prison.”
Told with heart and humor, the original 8-episode, half-hour comedy series, the synopsis continues, “is the reality of millions of families who are affected by the criminal justice system in the United States. According to the ACLU Mass incarceration has grown 500% over the last 50 years, with over 2 million people in this country incarcerated today. With this series, McMillan creates flawed but lovable characters from a place of empathy, humor, and soul to honor the families that mass incarceration affects most.”
Young actress Jordyn McIntosh also stars as seven-year-old “Little Paige”, who is the personification of adult Paige’s Inner Child. Per a press release: “She is the part of Paige that is untouched by all that has happened in her life, including losing her mother, foster care, and having a father in prison. “Little Paige” appears regularly, speaking directly to Paige and the audience, with both humorous and incisive wisdom of the all-knowing child.”
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“I wanted to show a family that every person in America would identify with, even though they’re facing very specific circumstances,” McMillan told Variety. “This is at its heart, a father-daughter story. It’s a story about a woman with a teenage son who’s trying to repair the relationship with her dad and everyone can relate to that.”
Showrunner Yvette Lee Bowser could relate to this series “on a personal level and felt like it wasn’t just my story and her story, but our story — an American story about healing.”
“Our writer’s room was on Zoom, and it was also a very safe space and there was a lot of emotion in the ideation for the show. You can only wish as a producer that comes across on screen, that you have that translation from the page to the stage and the cast elevated the material at every turn,” Bower told Variety.
EUR’s Ny MaGee spoke exclusively to Kerry, Delroy, Faly, Jordyn, and their co-star Marque Richardson about the overall message and heartbeat of the show, while McMillian explained why she wanted to unpack her childhood dysfunction for this new series. Check out what they had to say in my 4-part video interview below.
“UnPrisoned” will release all episodes exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. on March 10th.
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