Springing a Show on You

While no one person can subscribe to every streaming service out there, it seems to me like most of my friends have Amazon Prime, presumably because it kinda-sorta feels "free," included with shipping from the Amazon website. But if it happens that you don't have Amazon Prime, then there is a segment of their streaming content you can access for free: the ad-supported Freevee. This walled garden within a walled garden has its own content, where you must watch the commercials even if you pay for Amazon Prime. Diabolical.

But I have found at least one reason to dip a figurative toe in Freevee: the limited TV series Sprung. Set in 2020, at the onset of Covid-19, Sprung is a sitcom centered on three felons released early from their sentences in an effort to curb prison outbreaks. Rooster invites the Jack and Gloria to come live with him and his mother Barb as they try to get back on their feet. Jack wants to straighten up and reenter society, but the struggle to get by -- especially in the pandemic -- is too real, and the skills he learned in prison too useful. So he resolves only to steal from people who actually deserve it, and his new roommates become his enabling crew.

That may not sound like a comedy to you. But then consider that Sprung is the brainchild of Greg Garcia, the creator of (among other things) My Name Is Earl and Raising Hope. Sprung is a distinctive blend of both, featuring the light moral themes of the former, and key cast members from the latter. Garret Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton anchored Raising Hope, and now they do the same here on Sprung, joined by Shakira Barrera and Phillip Garcia. All four are hilarious, as are the supporting cast members who fill out the wacky world of Sprung.

The show is both fun and funny, and while that would be enough, it also offers up its own form of "prestige television" in a serialized storyline that involves planning one big heist. And over the course of the 9-episode season (sort of 10, with the final episode being double-length), that story is told in its entirety. Sprung seems to be built as this one-off, serving a complete story with resolution for all the major characters. While it's not rare for dramas to be like this, I'm hard-pressed to think of many comedies that have taken this limited approach to television. It's refreshing and rewarding.

If you've liked any of Greg Garcia's previous shows, you will like this -- it's that simple. If you're unfamiliar with him, but you think you'd enjoy Martha Plimpton hamming it up, you should definitely check it out. And yes, if your TV queue is as long as mine, I know you don't need any more recommendations, but this one will slot in at only about 5 hours total (not counting those commercials you can't avoid or skip). Then you'll be done -- and I'd wager, entertained.

I give Sprung a B+. Amid so many serious "must watch" shows right now, I found it pure fun.