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]
| Unsolved | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Kyle Long |
| Based on | Murder Rap: The Untold Story of Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by Greg Kading |
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Joseph Trapanese |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Production companies | HemingwayTaylor Universal Cable Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | USA Network |
| Release | February 27 – May 1, 2018 |
Cast
- Wavyy Jonez as The Notorious B.I.G.[3]
- Marcc Rose as Tupac Shakur[3]
- Josh Duhamel as Detective Greg Kading[4]
- Jimmi Simpson as Detective Russell Poole[4]
- Bokeem Woodbine as Officer Daryn Dupree[4]
- Jamie McShane as Detective Fred Miller[5]
- Brent Sexton as Detective Brian Tyndall[5]
- Wendell Pierce as Detective Lee Tucker
- Luke James as Sean Combs[6]
- Aisha Hinds as Voletta Wallace[6]
- LeToya Luckett as Sharitha Golden [6]
- Donald Faison as Jacques Agnant
- Woody McClain as Jimmy Henchman
- Maestro Harrell as Lil' Cease
- Funkmaster Flex as himself
- Lahmard Tate as Duane "Keefe D" Davis
- Mychal Thompson as Orlando Anderson
- Rhys Coiro as Jim Black
- Nakia Burrise as Sharon Gower
- Dominic L. Santana as Suge Knight
- Sola Bamis as Afeni Shakur
- Amirah Vann as Justine Simon
- Jamie Hector as Keefe D's lawyer
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Wherever It Leads" | Anthony Hemingway | Kyle Long | February 27, 2018 | 1.60[7] |
| 2 | "Nobody Talks" | Anthony Hemingway | Kyle Long | March 6, 2018 | 1.13[8] |
| 3 | "The Mack" | Ernest Dickerson | Denitria Harris-Lawrence | March 13, 2018 | 1.01[9] |
| 4 | "Take Your Best Shot" | Anthony Hemingway | Chris Downey | March 20, 2018 | 1.04[10] |
| 5 | "The Art of War" | Kate Woods | Jameal Turner | March 27, 2018 | 0.95[11] |
| 6 | "East Coast, West Coast" | Erica Watson | Tash Gray | April 3, 2018 | 0.84[12] |
| 7 | "Half the Job" | Darren Grant | Samir Mehta | April 10, 2018 | 0.81[13] |
| 8 | "Tupac Amaru Shakur" | Anthony Hemingway | Denitria Harris-Lawrence & Jameal Turner | April 17, 2018 | 0.76[14] |
| 9 | "Christopher" | Kate Woods | Chris Downey | April 24, 2018 | 0.77[15] |
| 10 | "Unsolved?" | Anthony Hemingway | Kyle Long | May 1, 2018 | 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
| 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] | — | — | — | — |
