Tracy McMillan, a native of Minnesota, is the brains behind Hulu‘s newest series, which centers on her family’s attempts to move on after Tracy’s incarcerated father serves out his term. Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, two actors of considerable talent, starred in the show. Not only does it take place in affluent Southwest Minneapolis, but specifically around and around Lake Harriet. “UnPrisoned” is about Paige as an adult, but because it is based on therapy, her younger self (Jordyn McIntosh) also shows up. As the two Paiges talk, we find out that their dad, Edwin (Lindo), spent time in and out of jail cell and that her mom was a prostitute and an alcohol problem who left her soon after she was born.
Paige grew up moving among foster families and Brenda Strong, who was her dad’s girlfriend is still very frustrated for not giving her effective care that was right for her age. Infrequently, we are introduced to Paige’s younger self, who has a conversation with her; this is a gimmick that doesn’t completely work because we already know that Paige is struggling with trauma from her childhood. “UnPrisoned” actually takes its heroes’ difficulties seriously. And unlike other shows that explore the relationship between the Black community and the prison industrial complex. If the series’s relatable tone has led you to ponder if it’s based on a real event, then the following information is important for you to know. Let’s find out the answer at tvacute.
Is Hulu’s “UnPrisoned” Based on a True Story?
‘UnPrisoned,’ a comedy on Hulu starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo is, surprisingly, based on real events. The show is mostly inspired by the author, Tracy McMillan‘s, own experiences. More than merely a story about a father and daughter, the series is part of McMillan’s larger effort to bring attention to the prison industrial complex and its devastating effects on families. It is actually quite amusing despite its serious subject matter of the daily injustices that Black people must endure.
“It’s something about getting to work through things that happened,” she says, noting the show’s not an actual depiction of her life. “It’s not my diary,” she adds, “but it was kind of an honor and a privilege to get to go through those feelings, but do it with these amazing actors and this incredible … crew, writers room and team of people to bring the whole thing to life.”
Kerry Washington has admired McMillan for a long time and has always been intrigued by her story. She and McMillan had similar ideas about what the show should say and do.
“What Tracy says is so true. We live in the shadow of the prison industrial complex in this country. And when you look at the numbers of people who go through that system, it’s so important that we think about these systems and how they impact personal lives, how they impact families,” Washington says. “And so, to me, to have the opportunity to take a lens and explore, what are these systems, these racist institutions?
As we now know that this story is very tangentially based on the real-life experiences of McMillan, who has been very forthcoming about her childhood. While Paige’s father resides with her in the movie, McMillen set two restrictions for her real-life father when he was released from prison: he could not ask her for money, and he could not live with her. We learned this via Kerry’s Tik Tok Q&A. In order to develop “UnPrisoned,” comedian and television writer McMillen imagined what life would have been like if she had let her father live with her instead of enforcing the laws.
@thekerrywashington Replying to @shep228
Tracy McMillan‘ says, “I actually have two rules: don’t ask me for money and you can’t live with me. But in TV, I was like, you know, what would it have been like to have him coming to live with me? “My goal in creating this show was really to shift hearts and minds around people who have been affected by mass incarceration. The families, the people involved, these are human beings like my family members. And I just knew that there was a story there that America was ready to hear.”
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