Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment’ is a docu-series that takes us in the middle of a real-life detention facility in Arkansas, where a sheriff named Higgins implements a social experiment that grants the inmates more freedom. In the episodes, the convicts are not locked inside their prison cells; they are allowed to freely come and go and make decisions for themselves regarding how the unit of prison should be run.
As the inmates are granted some freedom, some of them choose to make the most of this opportunity to behave and rebuild their lives while others challenge the authority as well as each other. By the end, Sheriff Higgins must decide for himself if his radical methods were successful or not.
Where is Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Filmed?
As per reports, the show’s inaugural iteration went under production starting in February 2023 and continued till April of the same year. Although it was a challenging filming process, the crew members seem to have enjoyed their time shooting the Netflix show.
Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility, Little Rock, Arkansas
All the pivotal sequences for the debut season of ‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment’ were lensed in Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. Situated in Pulaski County, Little Rock is not only the county seat but also the capital of the state of Arkansas. Apart from a few establishing shots of the capital, the show is primarily taped inside the Detention Facility at 3201 West Roosevelt Road, mainly in and around the H-Unit of the correctional facility.
Established in 1994, the prison facility consists of more than 1,200 detainees daily and is known to be the largest detention facility in the state. Some of the divisions and sections of the prison facility are the Court Liaison Office, Kitchen, Laundry, Medical Department, Transport Section, etc.
According to reports, the inmates who feature in the first season of the Netflix production received double visitation and payments worth around $75 to the commissary account. Since the facility implements the “Direct Supervision” concept of inmate management, it gives them the opportunity to maintain safety in a budget-friendly manner. According to a Pulaski County judge, shooting the documentary film inside the jail was deemed illegal. However, the sheriff defended his decision to allow crew members of ‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment’ inside the prison and shooting.
Read More: Best Documentaries on Apple TV+
