A Netflix reality series premiering in April will focus on a six-week experiment that appears to have allowed a group of Pulaski County jail inmates greater control of their cell block, according to a trailer released Wednesday.
The trailer for "Unlocked: A Jail Experiment" features Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins, who the voiceover says "is willing to risk it all on a new radical idea -- no locks and no officers."
"Detainees will have six weeks to prove they can act more like people, and not criminals," Higgins is heard to say in the trailer. "It could end up helping somebody to be free and stay free."
Higgins and a Pulaski County jail spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages left on Friday seeking comment for this article.
The trailer appears to show a group of inmates allowed to roam free in their cell block.
"We run the pod now," a person is heard saying in a voiceover clip, using a common term to refer to a block of cells.
The alternative, the narration states, is inmates in American jails being held in their cells for as many as 23 hours due to staffing shortages.
Inmates are seen fighting, making "hooch" or prison wine and rolling joints of what appears to be marijuana.
"Dude, we finna make hooch," a person is heard saying in the video, followed immediately by a clip of someone saying "we're gonna get drunk as hell." It wasn't clear if those two clips were from the same person, as the speakers were not shown.
"The things they do in here might shut this b**** down," one inmate, who is seen while speaking, said. His voice is played over clips of someone preparing a joint and holding a piece of paper, possibly a joint, that is burning, but it wasn't clear from the trailer if that's the behavior the inmate was referring to.
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde was not aware of the filming until this week and had not been informed of any experiment by Higgins, county spokesperson Emilee Hagewood said Friday.
She said Hyde would issue a statement soon.
Toward the end of the trailer, deputies are seen donning body armor and helmets while a voiceover plays of Higgins saying, "We need to be prepared if things get out of hand."
In the past, including in his 2022 re-election bid, Higgins has promoted substance abuse rehabilitation and education programs available to willing inmates in the jail. However, none of those programs appeared to match the description of the experiment as outlined in the show's trailer.
The eight-episode series is set to air on April 10, the trailer states.