ATLANTA – A new TV series debuts soon that looks at life behind the bars in the Fulton County jail.
The new A&E TV series is entitled “60 Days In.” The series was made possible by the jail, which agreed to put private citizens under cover to see what was working in the jail and what wasn’t.
Chief Jailer Col. Mark Adger is the one who personally trained many of the volunteers to try to blend in to the very realistic experience.
"I wouldn't use the word dangerous but I would use the word tough," he told 11Alive's Duffie Dixon. "It is tough inside this jail."
Adger said the jail gave the participants code words they could use if they were in distress, and that the participants were under camera surveillance at all times.
The series' biggest takeaway? Despite strict screening of inmates, criminals are always thinking ahead and figuring out ways to smuggle in contraband.
"Even with our best efforts, contraband was still getting into the jail," Adger said. "Since we changed our screening we've captured a tremendous amount of contraband."
The show, which premieres March 2, has only been tried before in one other place -- an Indiana jail that's roughly five times smaller than the metro Atlanta jail. It was all paid for by A&E, which covered insurance, production set-up and security used during the filming.
Get a first look at the new series below:
