Unsolved (American TV series)

Unsolved
Genre
Created byKyle Long
Based onMurder Rap: The Untold Story of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by Greg Kading
Starring
ComposerJoseph Trapanese
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Production companiesHemingwayTaylor
Universal Cable Productions
Original release
NetworkUSA Network
ReleaseFebruary 27 (2018-02-27) –
May 1, 2018 (2018-05-01)

Unsolved (also titled Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.) is an American true crime drama anthology television miniseries. The miniseries is based on the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur and the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls). It premiered February 27, 2018 on USA Network. The 10-episode miniseries chronicles the dual police investigations of Detective Greg Kading (Josh Duhamel) and Detective Russell Poole (Jimmi Simpson) into the controversial murders of two of the rap industry's most legendary players, Tupac (Marcc Rose) and Biggie (Wavyy Jonez).[1][2]

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Wherever It Leads"Anthony HemingwayKyle LongFebruary 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)1.60[7]
2"Nobody Talks"Anthony HemingwayKyle LongMarch 6, 2018 (2018-03-06)1.13[8]
3"The Mack"Ernest DickersonDenitria Harris-LawrenceMarch 13, 2018 (2018-03-13)1.01[9]
4"Take Your Best Shot"Anthony HemingwayChris DowneyMarch 20, 2018 (2018-03-20)1.04[10]
5"The Art of War"Kate WoodsJameal TurnerMarch 27, 2018 (2018-03-27)0.95[11]
6"East Coast, West Coast"Erica WatsonTash GrayApril 3, 2018 (2018-04-03)0.84[12]
7"Half the Job"Darren GrantSamir MehtaApril 10, 2018 (2018-04-10)0.81[13]
8"Tupac Amaru Shakur"Anthony HemingwayDenitria Harris-Lawrence & Jameal TurnerApril 17, 2018 (2018-04-17)0.76[14]
9"Christopher"Kate WoodsChris DowneyApril 24, 2018 (2018-04-24)0.77[15]
10"Unsolved?"Anthony HemingwayKyle LongMay 1, 2018 (2018-05-01)0.71[16]

Development

The series was ordered on May 12, 2017. Emmy winner Anthony Hemingway directed the pilot and will executive produce the series, along with Mark Taylor through their Hemingway-Taylor production company. Kyle Long wrote the pilot and will also executive produce. Greg Kading, who will also serve as co-executive producer, led multiple law-enforcement task forces investigating the murders and authored the book Murder Rap: The Untold Story of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations.[2][17]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 73% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.93/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unsolved's prestige aspirations don't always work in its procedural structure, but strong performances and an ambitious spirit to find truth in this real-world mystery create an engaging exploration of two of pop culture's most notorious influences."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 67 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[19]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Unsolved
No. Title Air date Rating
(18–49)		 Viewers
(millions)		 DVR
(18–49)		 DVR viewers
(millions)		 Total
(18–49)		 Total viewers
(millions)
1 "Wherever It Leads" February 27, 2018 0.7 1.60[7] 0.4 0.74 1.1 2.35[20]
2 "Nobody Talks" March 6, 2018 0.4 1.13[8] 0.3 — 0.7[21] —
3 "The Mack" March 13, 2018 0.4 1.01[9] 0.3 — 0.7[22] —
4 "Take Your Best Shot" March 20, 2018 0.4 1.04[10] 0.3 — 0.7[23] —
5 "The Art of War" March 27, 2018 0.4 0.95[11] — — — —
6 "East Coast, West Coast" April 3, 2018 0.3 0.84[12] 0.3 — 0.6[24] —
7 "Half the Job" April 10, 2018 0.3 0.81[13] 0.3 — 0.6[25] —
8 "Tupac Amaru Shakur" April 17, 2018 0.3 0.76[14] — — — —
9 "Christopher" April 24, 2018 0.3 0.77[15] 0.3 — 0.6[26] —
10 "Unsolved?" May 1, 2018 0.3 0.71[16] — — — —

References

  1. ^ "Breaking News - USA Locks February 27 10/9c Premiere Date for "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G." | TheFutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  2. ^ a b "Cast & Info | Unsolved". USA Network. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  3. ^ a b Calvario, Liz (6 March 2017). "'Unsolved': Marcc Rose And Wavyy Jonez Cast As Tupac And Biggie In USA's Murder Mystery Pilot".
  4. ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie (23 February 2017). "'Unsolved': Josh Duhamel, Jimmi Simpson & Bokeem Woodbine To Topline USA Pilot On Tupac Shakur & Biggie Smalls Murders".
  5. ^ a b Wagmeister, Elizabeth (12 May 2017). "Tupac-Biggie Smalls Series 'Unsolved' Greenlit at USA Network".
  6. ^ a b c Petski, Denise (22 March 2017). "'Unsolved': Luke James, Aisha Hinds & Letoya Luckett Cast In USA's Tupac Shakur Biggie Smalls Pilot".
  7. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (February 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 2.27.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 7, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.6.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 14, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.13.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 14, 2018.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 21, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.20.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (March 28, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.27.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 4, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.3.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 11, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.10.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 18, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.17.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (April 25, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.24.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (May 2, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.1.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2017-05-12). "'Unsolved' Drama About Tupac & Biggie's Murders Gets USA Network Series Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  18. ^ "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  19. ^ "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  20. ^ Porter, Rick (March 15, 2018). "'Walking Dead' stays atop the cable Live +7 ratings for Feb. 26-March 4". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  21. ^ Porter, Rick (March 22, 2018). "'Atlanta' and 'The Alienist' make more solid gains in cable Live +7 ratings for March 5–11". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  22. ^ Porter, Rick (March 29, 2018). "'The Fosters' finale doubles in cable Live +7 ratings for March 12–18". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  23. ^ Porter, Rick (April 6, 2018). "'Krypton' premiere makes solid gains in cable Live +7 ratings for March 19–25". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  24. ^ Porter, Rick (April 19, 2018). "'Fixer Upper' finale goes out strong: Cable Live +7 ratings for April 2–8". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  25. ^ Porter, Rick (April 26, 2018). "'The Last O.G.' scores for TBS in cable Live +7 ratings for April 9–15". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  26. ^ Porter, Rick (May 10, 2018). "'Suits' finale gets solid bump in cable Live +7 ratings for April 23–29". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.