‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment’: Arkansas County Refuses $60,000 Check From Producers of Netflix Doc Amid Ongoing Legal Battle
¡Hola, mi gente! ¿Están listos para un poquito de drama y sorpresas en el mundo de los docuseries? Buckle up because we're diving into the latest caliente story straight out from Pulaski County, Arkansas. Aquí en el corazón de Little Rock, something quite insólito happened that's got everyone talking.
Este mes, Arkansas’ Pulaski County le dijo "no, gracias" a un cheque de $60,000 de Lucky 8, the production company behind the Netflix hit docuseries “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.” ¿Pero, saben qué? Pulaski is where the magic—or should we say, the filming—happened. Lucky 8 thought they were just settling up, covering any gastos the county racked up during the shoot.
Pero espera, hay más. Along with returning el cheque, County Judge Barry Hyde penned a letter, clarito y directo, saying, “Pulaski County has no contract with Lucky 8. As such, we must treat this check as an offered donation. Your donation is refused.” ¡Ay, qué situación!
Now, esto no es the first rodeo of legal squabbles for this project, filmed right there in the Pulaski County Detention Center. Back in March, según KATV, the county’s quorum court threw in an emergencia ordinance. ¿Para qué? To make Sheriff Eric Higgins, the big boss of this “social experiment” that you see on Netflix, spill the beans—todo, desde documents to answering preguntas from the county.
And here comes the juicy part, amigos. In an interview, Judge Hyde mentioned he didn’t even know about the series until March of this year. Y, ¡ojo! He pointed out that in Arkansas, no one can bind the county in a contract without his John Hancock.
Meanwhile, Higgins had his own take. He told KATV, “The question was, ‘Do I have the authority to let a camera crew in?’ The answer was sí, fresco y claro—cause that’s part of running the jail.”
Turns out, Lucky 8 had an agreement, sí, but it was inked by Higgins, not Hyde. And to top it all off, that $60,000 check? It was supposed to cover the filming costs, according to the agreement, ensuring the facility didn’t fork over a dime.
Now, onto the series itself, “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment,” takes us into the lives of a bunch of Pulaski County detainees over six weeks with unlocked cells. Led by Higgins, the goal was chévere, to see if giving inmates más autonomía could create a more communal living space, maybe even making them rethink future crimes, all streamed right into your casas courtesy of Netflix.
And aquí lo tienen, the series wasn’t just a chisme in town; it exploded on the scene. In its debut week, it snagged the spot as Netflix’s second-most-watched English-language series with 3.9 million views. Not just a one-hit wonder, it kept the spotlight, climbing to 5 million views the following week.
Así que, whether you’re here for the behind-the-scenes legal tussles or the groundbreaking experiment inside, “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” is serving up the drama, both on-screen and off. Stay tuned, mi gente, because this story is sure to keep unfolding!
