Hollywood is king when it comes to recycling – and I’m not talking bottles and cans. No, Tinseltown is instead big on reusing content – and has been pretty much since its inception, though more so in recent years with everything from “Fraiser” to “Night Court” to “Father of the Bride” receiving the reboot treatment. The same can even be said of the locations that serve as backdrops, the most popular of which repeatedly appear across both the big and small screens. Case in point? The new Hulu series “UnPrisoned,” which hit the streamer last week and is peppered throughout with oft-shot spots, including one of the most famous homes in television history!
Created by relationship expert/HuffPost author Tracy McMillan, the “unlikely buddy comedy” stars Kerry Washington as fabulously attired marriage and family therapist/single mom Paige Alexander, who begrudgingly takes in her freshly paroled father, Edwin Alexander (Delroy Lindo), following his 17-year stint in a state penitentiary for drug dealing. As a title card informs viewers at the start of each episode, the story is “inspired by some truly crazy shit.” Indeed, McMillan based the narrative on her relationship with her own father, who went to jail when she was a toddler, landing her in a succession of different homes throughout her formative years, with the two reconnecting later in life, though from opposite parts of the country. She explains in a behind-the-scenes featurette, “This show is ‘What if I had had my dad come to live with me?’”
While the premise doesn’t exactly sound like it would lend itself to comedy, McMillan has managed to find both the humor and heart of her circumstances and translates them beautifully to the screen, facilitated in part by a unique construct in which Paige regularly interacts with her childhood self, played by an adorable, scene-stealing Jordyn McIntosh.
Set in Minneapolis, Minn. (where McMillan grew up), “UnPrisioned” is actually lensed in Los Angeles, where the cast and crew have made use of several screen favorites. It is at Fields Market in West Hills, an insanely popular locale that has appeared in everything from “Gilmore Girls” to “Matchstick Men” to “Desperate Housewives,” that Paige takes Edwin to shop for essentials in the series pilot, titled “Repetition Compulsion.” Paige later attends mass with her foster parents and foster sister/realtor Esti Nelson (Jee Young Han) at the Congressional Church of the Chimes in Sherman Oaks, which is also where Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) married Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) on “The Office.”
-
Image Credit: Hulu -
Image Credit: Lindsay Blake for Dirt And Paige’s house, where she lives with her father and teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana), should be familiar to fans of ‘80s television. The charming two-story Colonial is best known for serving as the home of sharp-tongued matriarch Thelma “Mama” Crowley Harper (Vicki Lawrence) on the popular show “Mama’s Family.” Purported to be at 4138 Wentworth Ave. in the Lake Harriet region of Minneapolis on ‘UnPrisoned,’ the pad can actually be found at 1027 Montrose Ave. in South Pasadena. (Please remember this is a private house. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
Originally built in 1910, the shingle-sided bungalow hasn’t been on the market for nearly three decades, last selling in February 1996 for $335,500, so detailed information is relatively scant. Though most real estate websites indicate the place as having four bedrooms and one bath in 2,314 square feet, a 1955 advertisement published in the South Pasadena Review (at which time it was being offered for $16,500) notes it as comprising a seemingly more realistic three bedrooms and two baths. Later Review reporting documents additional amenities including a detached one-car garage, a fireplace, a sleeping porch and a pool.
Situated on a 0.20-acre parcel, Zillow estimates the residence is worth just over $1.9 million today.
Boasting a thoroughly picturesque façade and an abundance of curb appeal, the property looks like a perfect slice of Americana. As such, it is no surprise that it has been featured so prominently onscreen.
-
Image Credit: Hulu -
Image Credit: Lindsay Blake for Dirt Paige purchases the dwelling in “UnPrisoned’s” pilot – in spite of the sellers’ restrictive stipulations of a two-week escrow and no contingencies whatsoever – and moves in the following episode, titled “How to Be a Main B*tch.” The abode goes on to become the series’ central site, popping up regularly in both establishing shots and on-location scenes.
-
Image Credit: Hulu The inside of the residence, which is about as exquisitely outfitted as Paige herself, is not the Colonial’s actual interior but a gorgeously-fashioned set created by production designer Greg J. Grande, who is best known for his work crafting such iconic backdrops as Central Perk café and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) and Rachel Green’s (Jennifer Aniston) purple-walled apartment during his longtime gig as the set decorator of “Friends.”
Despite Esti’s assertion that the house is “kind of a mess” when the Alexanders first move in, Grande’s design isn’t exactly what I would qualify as such. While Paige does proceed to fix the place up throughout the season, it certainly starts out with some lovely bones, including sweeping arched openings and a tasteful kitchen featuring muted blue cabinets, stone counters and a classic vintage stove.
-
Image Credit: Lorimar Telepictures The pad’s interior wasn’t featured on “Mama’s Family,” either. As is the case with “UnPrisoned,” the inside of the Harper home, including Thelma’s ubiquitous doily-covered couch, only ever existed on a soundstage, first at CBS Television City in the Fairfax District and then at the former Fox Television Center in Hollywood. (The latter has since been torn down and replaced with Helen Bernstein High School, a filming location in and of itself, best known as one of the spots that portrayed William McKinley High on “Glee.”)
Interestingly, three different dwellings were used to portray the exterior of the Rayton, Mo.-area Harper residence throughout “Mama’s Family’s” six-year run – the first in the opening credits of seasons one and two, the second in on-location scenes smattered throughout a handful of early episodes and finally 1027 Montrose, which is the most recognizable of the bunch.
Considering its massive popularity, it might be surprising to learn that “Mama’s Family” was actually canceled in 1984, after just two seasons, due to low ratings. And while that might have been the end of the story, producer Joe Hamilton, in a rather unconventional move for the time, decided to revive the sitcom via first-run syndication two years later. The reboot, which boasted revised opening credits showing Thelma sweeping the South Pasadena bungalow’s front walk, premiered on September 27, 1986. It promptly became a resounding success, going on to air 100 episodes over the course of four seasons before ending its run in 1990. Because the original opening was replaced with the new version for all of the season one and two episodes that aired in syndication, it is the South Pasadena property that viewers most closely associate with the show.
-
Image Credit: Compass International Pictures And the dwelling has yet another claim to fame! It also appeared in the 1978 classic horror film “Halloween” as the Haddonfield, Ill. home of Lynda (P.J. Soles), though we are only given a limited view of the place and a brief one at that.
Considering its versatility, audiences will no doubt see the place popping up in productions for years to come.