Review by C.J. Bunce
Sometimes the best shows are just ahead of their time. In the case of the 2022 comedy series Sprung, “ahead” is just a year or two. For a comedy Sprung ticks all the boxes. First and foremost the comedy is the blurt out loud laughing variety, but it also has many moments that tap into friendships, family, and being human when life only throws you lemons. But like so many of the best TV series we’ve discussed at borg, we only have a single season to enjoy. That’s ten half-hour episodes including the final two joined and airing as a single finale. The timing issue involved the setting. It’s set just after March 2020, and it pokes fun and pulls some of its humor from the pandemic. These jokes were likely too soon for a 2022 audience, but now that the dust has cleared the humor lands as fabulously sharp. The show stars Garret Dillahunt (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Jack, who was jailed in 1994 for selling marijuana–mandatory sentencing kept him in jail until, by sheer quirk, several non-violent offender inmates were released early because the jail didn’t have a way to deal with the pandemic social distancing rules.
Arriving in jail as barely an adult, Jack had to learn most of his life lessons from other inmates. His most recent cellmate was Rooster, played by Phillip Garcia (Terminator: Dark Fate), also not the brightest fellow, but in an entirely different way. Dimwitted and childlike, he’s a mama’s boy and mama is Barb, a crusty character whose facial contortions are almost their own character, played by Martha Plimpton (The Goonies). Her performance somehow tapped the brash and loud humor and genius of Lucille Ball. That’s the set-up, and result is a keeper up there with Wonderfalls, The Riches, Cupid, and so many other series on our one-season hit list.
For anyone who avoids series that don’t get renewed for a second season so they’re not stuck with unresolved stories or a cliffhanger, don’t worry. The series wraps up perfectly in its final episode. But anyone could pick up where it left off at any point. You’ll miss the characters once it’s over.
That includes Shakira Barrera (GLOW) as Gloria, who was Jack’s girlfriend in jail. They never actually met in person, but spoke via shouting at each other via the toilet pipes. Did I not mention the show is pretty vulgar? Greg Garcia (My Name is Earl, Raising Hope), who wrote and directed all of the episodes, has a singular talent of balancing a lot to make this work. If you don’t like crude stories, don’t worry. The conviction of each actor and their believability will keep you coming back for more. Then there’s Clare Gillies as Rooster’s cotton candy-voiced ex-girlfriend Wiggles (she works in a strip club). Filmed in and around Pittsburgh, this could have been set anywhere from Macon, Georgia, or Emporia, Kansas. What are ex-cons supposed to do when they’re released early and nobody will employ them? Rooster and his mom Barb let Jack and Gloria move in, provided that they work with Barb to commit low-level crimes in order to bring in money and earn their keep.
In backstory Barb has already stolen a stolen stockpile of toilet paper rolls from Wiggles’ current boyfriend Melvin, played by James Earl (Psych). Once Melvin learns Barb’s makeshift gang are doing more jobs, Melvin blackmails them for a share of their take. But everyone’s quirky personalities keep getting in the way. Gloria is a closer and continues to work on them until she comes up with the best idea for a score–stealing from a local Congresswoman played by Kate Walsh (The Drew Carey Show), who she learns has her own scheme in play of defrauding her insurance company by claiming her collection of art was stolen–after she sells it. But that doesn’t proceed as planned. Watch closely or you might miss that her husband is played by former U.S. Congressman Fred Grandy, who you may recall played Gopher on The Love Boat.
The cast has chemistry, perhaps because most of the actors have worked on screen together before. You’ll get the feel that this could be a family in the crazy and uncertain year that was 2000. Dillahunt brings to Jack humor you haven’t seen him do in his dozens of big roles. He also brings a certain charm. Jack doesn’t want to be a criminal anymore, and can’t help using his winnings from each crime and sharing it with strangers (all while planning to go help his elderly parents, driving each other batty in an apartment in San Diego). As Gloria (the most level-headed of the group) learns of his kinder side, the fact that they grow closer is more believable. Meanwhile the antics are nonstop as Rooster tries to win back Wiggles from Melvin. Betrayed and bewildered, Melvin brings his own personality to the group.
This is a true ensemble cast, the kind that should have piled on the awards. But something about the balance of the very edgy and real nature of Martha Plimpton’s mama bear wins the day. This is a memorable character from an actress who rose from being a child actor, and a character with the same kind of wisened grit as her character on Task.
You’ll want to keep an eye out for whatever Greg Garcia and this small cast does next. Sprung is a win–count it as one of the best of the kinds of classic comedy shows we don’t see much of anymore with sharp writing that also doesn’t come around that often. It’s streaming now on Prime Video.
