During this time of state-mandated social distancing due to the spread of coronavirus, the ex-convicts from We TV’s hit reality show “Life After Lockup” are offering advice from their very specialized field of expertise: How to keep yourself occupied while staying inside.
The show, a spinoff of “Love After Lockup,” follows the lives of couples, who met through prison dating websites, trying to make their relationships work after the prisoner has been released. The videos will be used as on-air interstitials, as well as run on We TV’s website.
We TV president Marc Juris wrote over email: “We have been busy working on a number of things to help our viewers through this unprecedented time, and quickly realized that we had a whole roster of experts in the area of home confinement — the former convicts on ‘Love After Lockup’ and ‘Life After Lockup,’ so we asked them to self-tape tips for the rest of us, based on their experiences.”
So far one of videos — made by Tony, a serial womanizer — has aired on We. In the video, Tony is identified as a “containment expert.” “Dealing with this quarantine reminds me of prison,” he says. “The stuff I used to do in prison was write letters, stay on the phone, draw, work out — a workout was really important to keep your sanity.”
In a video obtained exclusively by Variety, fan favorites Lamar and Andrea offer “5 Tips for Surviving Lockdown.” From their bathroom, which Lamar says is about the size of his old prison cell, Lamar talks about reading, hygiene, collecting canned foods and dried goods, relaxing (with “a big bottle of hooch”), and keeping in shape (he uses a garbage bag full of water as a weight). Andrea prompts him as he goes.
Ex-con cast members Shane and Josh have already recorded videos that will soon be rolled out, and there may be more to come.
The season finale of “Life After Lockup,” which aired on Friday, scored series-high ratings — a spike common across all platforms these days, as self-isolating viewers seek solace in home entertainment.