Unsolved - Pilot
photo credit: James Minchin III/USA Network

Biggie/Tupac series 'Unsolved' premieres tonight (watch sneak previews)

Tonight (2/27) at 10 PM Eastern, USA premieres the first episode of Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.. The show “draws from the experiences” of former LAPD Detectives Greg Kading and Russell Poole, who separately investigated the still-unsolved murders of Tupac and Biggie. It follows Kading and Poole’s story lines, as well as the story line of the friendship between Biggie and Pac. It was executive produced by Anthony Hemingway (who also did American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson), and it stars Josh Duhamel (Transformers) as Kading, Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) as Poole, Marcc Rose (who also played Tupac in Straight Outta Compton) as Tupac, and rapper Wavyy Jonez (making his acting debut) as Biggie. As for what to expect, here’s an excerpt from NY Times‘ review (not really including any spoilers):

So the most conspicuous aspect of “Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.,” a lightly fictionalized 10-part limited series on USA that has its premiere on Tuesday, is its certainty. Here is a show that offers answers, a ticktock of the various investigations into the killings that have resulted in no arrests but not, if “Unsolved” is to be believed, in no answers.

The series is inspired by “Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations,” a book by Greg Kading, who led a task force investigating the shootings in the late 2000s. (There is an accompanying documentary as well.) In that book, Mr. Kading lays out his theories about who pulled the triggers, and why.

They also call the show “equal parts appealingly pulpy and workmanlike, sometimes paced like a procedural and sometimes like a prestige drama.”

You can watch three clips from the show, along with interviews with the lead actors, and a behind-the-scenes video about the show’s music, below. Tune in tonight at 10 for more.