Shelter In Place

HOME CONFINEMENT- Shelter In Place
a sitcom
by Vernon(King Smij)Williams

LOGLINE: An ex-cons jubilation of being released from prison to house arrest, is upended when he’s tasked with babysitting three mischievous kids.

SYNOPSIS: A recently paroled ex-con must spend an unspecified amount of time on house arrest as per the terms of his reentry agreement. As fate would have it, the world goes into quarantine due to the covid-19 pandemic making the whole world confined to house arrest also. To his surprise, the ex- cons two nieces and nephew are unexpectedly dropped off to his house and he is turned into the quarantine babysitter. Because he is already used to being stuck in the house Uncle Kwan is equipped to show the kids how to survive Home Confinement, but these mischievous kids have some survival skills of their own.

UNCLE KWAN has just been granted early release from prison for good behavior. The only catch is he must spend the remaining time of his prison sentence on house arrest. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal because house arrest beats jail arrest any day. Right? Unbeknownst to him, being confined to the house makes him the perfect candidate for free baby-sitting duties. In exchange for his family giving him a place to serve his home detention, Uncle Kwan agrees to look after their children and hilarity ensues.

TIFFANY (11), MIKE MIKE (7) and LaKeisha (6) are good kids who go through the same growing pains as most kids their ages. They have good parents, who are often busy perusing their careers, which leaves the kids under the tutelage of their institutionalized uncle. His way of dealing with his nieces and nephew is most times unorthodox and sometimes downright ridiculous, but always somehow solves the problem. Whether it’s teaching the kids how to make a full course prison meal in the microwave, or helping them deal with cyber bullying, Uncle Kwan somehow translates the skills he learned in prison to work in everyday life.

Slick is Kwan’s lifelong friend who is helping him get readjusted to life as a free man. He periodically pops in to check on Kwan and makes sure he’s on the right route. He’s always points out habits that his friend picked up in jail that he should not be doing in the free world (I.e., wearing shoes in the shower, saving leftover food in a potato chip bag). He also assists with the kids and is often the voice of reason.

At the end of the day, people are people, and kids usually bring out a responsible, mature, soft side in most, as is the case with Uncle Kwan. Even though he’s trying to get his own life back on track, and on paper he may not be the most qualified to rear three kids, the uncle’s “maternal instinct” kicks in and the results are hilarious and effective.