Amazon Freevee comedy premiering Aug. 19.“This one was a pandemic creation,” said series star Garret Dillahunt, who’s also an executive producer on “Sprung,” which reunites him with his “Raising Hope” co-star Martha Plimpton and that show’s creator, Greg Garcia (“My Name Is Earl,” “Yes, Dear,” “The Guest Book”).“It was in 2020 and I thought, ‘When was the last time I had a ball on a series?’ And it was on ‘Raising Hope.’ So I called Greg and said, ‘Let’s do something.’ I didn’t know what, but I knew the kind of guy I wanted to be [in the show] so he had very little to go on,” he said. “He probably had this idea for a while and kind of tinkered with it to make it fit into what I was looking for and [to fit] the times.“So that’s the best move a producer can make — have a friend who’s a better producer.”Dillahunt (“Fear the Walking Dead,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “The Mindy Project”) plays Jack, who’s serving a 24-year sentence in the slammer for a drug offense.

He and his cellmate, Rooster (Phillip Garcia), are among the non-violent prisoners freed when the pandemic first hits — and, along with fellow inmate Gloria (Shakira Barrera), they move in with Rooster’s wild-child mom, Barb (Plimpton) and, eventually, decide to use their criminal backgrounds for the greater good.

Co-stars include Clare Gillies as Wiggles, Rooster’s ex-girlfriend, and James Earl as Melvin, her new beau. Kate Walsh, Susan Ruttan, Fred Grandy, Steven Ogg and Chris Bauer are among the guest stars in the 10-episode series, which was shot last year in and around Pittsburgh.“Greg really wanted to shoot in Frostburg, Md., which is where he went to college,” Dillahunt said.

Garret Dillahunt reunites with ‘unique presence’ Martha Plimpton in ‘Sprung’

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