Unprisoned Explained

Genre:	comedy-drama
Creator:	Tracy McMillan
Location:	Los Angeles, California, USA
Language:	English
Country:	United States
Num Seasons:	2
Num Episodes:	16
Network:	Hulu
Last Aired:	present

UnPrisoned is a comedy-drama television series created by Tracy McMillan, starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo. The series is produced by Onyx Collective. It premiered on Hulu on March 10, 2023. UnPrisoned received generally positive reviews from critics. In November 2023, it was renewed for a second season ^[1] that premiered on July 17, 2024.^[2]

Cast

Main

• Kerry Washington as Paige Alexander, a family and marriage therapist with a large Instagram following. Despite her vocation, she struggles with her personal relationships. Due to her father's frequent imprisonment, she was in and out of various foster homes. She lived with her father's girlfriend Nadine from ages 8–18. She often imagines herself interacting with her "inner child" during stressful situations. Jordyn McIntosh plays young Paige.
• Delroy Lindo as Edwin Alexander, Paige's father who has been imprisoned for the past 17 years. He wants to reconcile with his daughter and make a life for himself on the outside. He is a good cook, but struggles to find employment due to his status as an ex-felon. He is a huge flirt and quite successful with the ladies.
• Marque Richardson as Mal, Edwin's case worker. He becomes Paige's boyfriend for several episodes until she ends the relationship.
• Faly Rakotohavana as Finneas "Finn" Alexander, Paige's teenage son. He is biracial and his father is not in his life. He's an introverted gamer with an interest in card games. He bonds with his grandfather despite his mother's objections.
• Jee Young Han as Esti Nelson, Paige's foster sister from Pastor and Mrs. Nelson's home. She has a sassy "tell it like it is" personality and is often Paige's sounding board. She had been married and divorced three times.

Recurring

• Brenda Strong as Nadine, Edwin's on-again off-again girlfriend. She took care of Paige from ages 8–18 after Edwin's incarceration, and is frustrated by the fact that she never called her "mom." Paige claims that she has a Cluster B personality disorder, but while she may come off as a bit cruel and superficial, she seems to genuinely love both Edwin and Paige in her own way.
• Edwin Lee Gibson as Fox, one of Edwin's friends from before his incarceration. He seems to still be involved in some shady business.
• Tim Daly as Bill, Paige's boyfriend at the beginning of the show. He breaks up with Paige when she pushes for a more "official" relationship.

Episodes

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Filming

Production on the second season started in February 2024.^[3]

Release

UnPrisoned premiered on March 10, 2023, on Hulu in the United States. It was released internationally as an original series on Disney+, under the dedicated streaming hub Star, on Disney+ Hotstar, and on Star+ in Latin America.

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Onyx Collective, the UnPrisoned premiere was Onyx Collective's most-watched Hulu premiere, and the series was the most-watched Hulu Original scripted series so far in 2023, as of March 2023.

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 92% approval rating with an average rating of 7.3/10, based on 12 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A snappy comedy with weighty themes in tow, UnPrisoned lets Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo bounce off each other to delightful effect."^[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[5]

Daniel D'Addario of Variety praised the performances of Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo and complimented the dynamic between the characters, calling the show a "family story with genuine heart."^[6] Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly gave the show a grade of B+, writing, "The eight-episode season follows a fairly predictable path, and some of Paige's flights of fancy play more silly than funny. (Her chats with "Little Paige" largely work, though, because McIntosh is such a fierce little comedian.) Quibbles aside, UnPrisoned is the type of show that's still a rarity on TV: An intimate, heartfelt comedy about one family's piece of the Black experience."^[7] Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter applauded the performances of Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo and described the series as "messy but fascinating."^[8] Joel Keller of Decider asserted, "Winning performances by Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo make UnPrisioned a fun show to follow, despite the heavy intergenerational subject matter that's explored on the show."^[9]

Accolades

!Year!Award!Category!Nominee(s)!Result!Ref.

2023	Black Reel Awards for Television	Outstanding Comedy Series	Yvette Lee Bowser		^[10] ^[11]
		Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series	Numa Perrier
		Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series	Kerry Washington
		Outstanding Lead Performance in a Comedy Series	Delroy Lindo
2024	Astra TV Awards	Best Directing in a Streaming Comedy Series	Numa Perrier		^[12] ^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. Onyx's UnPrisoned Renewed For Season 2 On Hulu; Kerry Washington Re-Ups Over Deal With ABC Signature. Deadline Hollywood. 2023-11-20. 2023-11-20.
2. Web site: John Stamos Helps the UnPrisoned Family Work on Themselves in Season 2 Trailer. June 12, 2024. July 5, 2024. TVLine. Caruso. Nick.
3. Web site: Kerry Washington on Instagram: "your main bitches are back. #UnprisonedSeason2". Instagram . March 26, 2024 . February 5, 2024.
4. unprisoned. Unprisoned. tv. 1. March 22, 2023. y.
5. unprisoned. Unprisoned. tv. 1. March 22, 2023. y.
6. Web site: D'Addario . Daniel . 2023-03-10 . Hulu's 'UnPrisoned' Tells a Post-Prison Family Story With Genuine Heart: TV Review . 2023-03-11 . Variety.
7. Web site: Baldwin . Kristen . 2023-03-09 . Delroy Lindo is so good in 'UnPrisoned,' it should be illegal . 2023-03-11 . EW.com . en.
8. Web site: Han . Angie . 2023-03-07 . 'UnPrisoned' Review: Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo in a Messy but Fascinating Hulu Dramedy . 2023-03-11 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
9. Web site: Keller . Joel . 'UnPrisoned' Hulu Review: Stream It Or Skip It? . 2023-03-31 . . en-US.
10. Web site: 2023 Black Reel TV Award Nominees . 2023-06-23 . . en-US.
11. Web site: Complex . Valerie . June 15, 2023 . Black Reel 7th Annual Television Awards Featuring Gender Neutral Categories Announces Nominations; 'The Best Man: Final Chapters' Leads With 18 Noms . 2023-06-23 . . en-US.
12. Web site: Schneider . Michael . January 8, 2024 . ‘The Boys,’ ‘Succession’ Land Most Honors at Astra TV Awards — Full Winners List . 2024-01-11 . . en-US.
13. Web site: Major . Michael . January 9, 2024 . HBO's SUCCESSION and Prime Video's THE BOYS Lead the 2024 Hollywood Creative Alliance Astra TV Awards . 2024-01-11 . . en.