‘Sprung’: Garret Dillahunt and Shakira Barrera Show Unique Form of Prison Communication in Exclusive Clip

Sprung is the new comedy series from My Name Is Earl creator Greg Garcia and features a reunion with his Raising Hope stars Garret Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton. In an exclusive clip shared with PopCulture, Dillahunt’s Jack finds a unique way to connect with Gloria, played by Shakira Barrera, when the two were still in prison. New episodes of the series are released on Amazon’s Freevee platform Fridays.

The scene is set in 2019 when Jack and Gloria were still in prison. At the time, the two could only communicate using rolled-up magazines and speaking to each other via the prison toilet. Rooster (Philip Garcia) helps Jack connect with the much-younger Gloria, even inspiring him to call her “boo.” The two jailed lovebirds talk about their dreams of the future, with Jack hoping to marry Gloria one day. Gloria’s cellmate Diamond (Ro Underwood) jokes with her about Jack being in love with her, but Gloria isn’t too sure if she’s fallen for him yet.

Sprung focuses on a group of convicts who are released from prison early because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He tries to start a normal life outside prison, but finds himself living with Rooster, Rooster’s mother Barb (Plimpton), and Gloria. They try to use their criminal knowledge for good, but Rooster and Barb are also running a new criminal enterprise. Garcia wrote and directed all 10 episodes, which have been released two per week on Fridays.

In a GameRant interview, Dillahunt said the idea for the show came from a brainstorming session with Garcia and Plimpton. “I’m in the last act in my career, so I wanted to be a little more choosy. The last time I had a great time was with Greg and Martha, so I called Greg and I said, ‘Let’s do something,’” Dillahunt recalled. “This was during the COVID lockdown, and we just started jamming on some things. I felt like I dropped a grain of sand into a well. That was my contribution.”

“I don’t know what it is about Greg’s writing, but I relate to all of it,” Plimpton said of Garcia’s work. “I relate to everything about her. I relate to her loneliness. I relate to her attachment to her son. I relate to her love of privacy and quiet time. Barb is an independent woman. She’s a multifaceted, independent, and professional woman.”