60 Days In Season 8 started with seven participants volunteering to enter North Carolina’s Pitt County Detention Center. The conditions inside the jail turned out to be worse than expected for some of the participants as four of the seven tapped out early.

With the program (and the 60 Days In season) at risk, Sheriff Paula Dance was forced to call in reinforcements in the form of two additional participants with experience being behind bars.

In the end, five of the nine participants managed to make it through the program without tapping out. Those five participants will join the four participants who tapped out early, as well as Sheriff Dance and Chief Capehart, for a two-part reunion special hosted by Mona Scott-Young. Part One premieres tonight at 9/8c on A&E, and Part Two premieres next Thursday at the same time.

We’ve put together a brief 60 Days In Season 8 recap to help you get fully caught up before the reunion specials!

60 Days In Season 8 Recap

THE EARLY TAPPERS

All of the volunteers talked a big talk prior to being booked into the Pitt County Detention Center, but four out of the original seven participants couldn’t walk the walk once they were actually behind bars. Let’s take a look at all four volunteers who failed to make it 60 days in.

The two-part 60 Days In Season 8 reunion special will last longer than JACOB did inside PCDC. In less that two hours, Jacob was rubbing his hands and letting producers know how cold it was in his cell.

The self-professed 60 Days In superfan seemed willing to put the entire program in jeopardy in exchange for his immediate release, but he eventually conceded to a few more minutes of incarceration so that his extraction wouldn’t seem suspicious.

Despite his premature extraction, Jacob looks to have hardened himself up prior to taping the reunion. 🙄 We will all have to wait and see if he is able to make it longer than 90 minutes this time.

CLYDELL’s struggle to make it the full 60 days looked to be more about his own health issues than the conditions of the jail. Of course, it was likely the conditions of the jail that got Clydell’s blood pressure up!

Despite previously serving a 17-year prison sentence, Clydell realized early on that he was not able to serve another two months. He tapped out before his five days of quarantine were up.

Among the original seven volunteers, STEPHEN seemed like an early frontrunner to make it the full 60 Days.

The former corrections officer made it through quarantine, and he adapted to life in the male pod better than the other three remaining male participants. However, it appeared to be Stephen’s knowledge of how jails work (or how jails are supposed to work) that eventually resulted in him feeling unsafe enough in PCDC to tap out.

#60DaysIn Charlotte made it all the way through quarantine and THEN tapped out?! Those sandwiches must've been REALLY bad. ☹️ 2 down, 5 to go. @60DaysIn @AETV #ad pic.twitter.com/PXyesQVnph

— Starcasm (@starcasm) June 30, 2023

CHARLOTTE continued to talk the talk after she was booked, but her confident demeanor was betrayed by her frequent signals to production, and the need for them to continually convince her to stay. Producers eventually lost the battle and Charlotte was gone soon after her five-day quarantine was over.

Charlotte looks to have the same confident energy in the reunion clip. Will she hold up for two hours without being able to rub her hands together and get a pep talk from producers?

THE REINFORCEMENTS

Once the program lost four of their seven volunteers relatively quickly, Sheriff Dance (and producers) quickly called in reinforcements. But dont think for a second that the two prospects they brought in were second stringers!

The resumes for the new recruits clearly showed the they were more than qualified for the mission. I would even go so far as to describe them both as ringers or stoppers — “break glass in case of emergency” failsafes if the program ran into issues with too many volunteers bailing early.

Kendra and Orion seem like first teamers they're bringing in off the bench! #60DaysIn

— Starcasm (@starcasm) July 28, 2023

ORION spent nearly 20 years in federal prison. That experience not only helped him make it through the 60 Days In program without tapping out, but it also helped highlight just how bad the situation was in the Pitt County Detention Center. If someone who spent two decades in prison is constantly criticizing the conditions of your jail, then you know you need to make some improvements!

However, Orion didn’t spend all his time complaining about the conditions and his situation. He actively engaged with multiple inmates, and was a genuinely positive influence by encouraging those incarcerated to try to make something positive out of their time instead of just laying around and/or doing drugs all day.

The focus on vocational training was something Orion voiced to Sheriff Dance, and she seemed open to implementing programs in the jail that would provide inmates with more opportunities in that regard.

Orion was also a personal mentor to multiple inmates. He put a lot of time and effort into trying to inspire focus and maturity among those willing to listen, whether it be in their careers, religious practices, or personal lives.

Orion did all of this while fulfilling his 60 Days In mission at the same time. He provided a lot of actionable intel for Sheriff Dance and Chief Capehart to use to better their jail.

KENDRA is an absolute badass who is no stranger to the public eye. She used her experienced being trafficked as a teen to become an outspoken advocate for trafficking victims. In addition to being the founder of the non-profit Liberation Team, Kendra works full-time as “an executive protection agent for high profile clients.”

Just like Orion, Kendra was able to use her experience to adapt to the conditions of the jail and finish her time without tapping out. And just like Orion, Kendra went above and beyond the 60 Days In mission by having a positive influence on many of the other inmates.

As a testament to just how much of a positive influence Kendra had, PCDC inmate Nadeera openly admitted that she suspected Kendra was an undercover police officer — but she didn’t care. Can you imagine someone being suspected of being an undercover police officer still being able to win the trust and respect of an inmate with a rather extensive criminal record? That’s Kendra.

Despite her personal connection with some of the inmates, Kendra remained 100% true to the 60 Days In mission. Her intel for Sheriff Dance would likely be frowned upon by many of the inmates as it included advice on how to better police the drugs making their way into the jail with more efficient searches.

THE OG SURVIVORS

#60DaysIn Sara's winning over every inmate with sincerity, positivity and empathy. It's heartwarming to watch.
🔥🔥💗🔥🔥 @60DaysIn @AETV #ad pic.twitter.com/uoXmfXxQqM

— Starcasm (@starcasm) July 14, 2023

SARA (KATY PERRY) was a fan favorite this season because she took the extremely dangerous risk of wearing her heart on her sleeve throughout her 60 days. Armed with her own story of addiction and recovery, Sara’s focus during her time in PCDC was to try to help those inmates with addiction issues.

Sara had a HUGELY positive influence on multiple inmates she was incarcerated with. And she will likely have a hugely positive influence on future inmates thanks to the valuable intel and advice she was able to give Sheriff Dance and Captain Capehart about the things they could do to better help the female inmates struggling with addiction.

BRITTANY was very similar to Sara with her focus and impact. Coming from a background as an addiction counselor as opposed to a former addict, Brittany was able to inspire her fellow inmates to open up to each other and to themselves about some of the core issues that were preventing them from living better lives. In a world based on walls keeping them in, Brittany managed to gain enough trust from many of the women inmates that they were willing to let their own walls down.

Also like Sara, Brittany’s success went beyond the influence she had while inside PCDC as she provided some great insights to Sheriff Dance and Captain Capehart about how to improve the way the jail handled mental health issues.

#60DAYSIN PRODUCER: If you sat with the sheriff today and provided intel up until this point, what would you tell her?

JAMIL: I wouldn't have anything to tell her. Nothin' goin' on.

🤦🏻‍♀️ @60DaysIn @AETV #ad pic.twitter.com/gvDcAtxfsI

— Starcasm (@starcasm) August 4, 2023

JAMIL is without a doubt the most talked about participant from 60 Days In Season 8! The aspiring musician surprised a lot of viewers by managing to make it the full 60 days without tapping out. However, making it 60 days was pretty much the only part of the program’s mission that Jamil completed.

In addition to spending a large part of his time literally hiding under a blanket on his bunk, Jamil seemed to lose touch with being a participant on 60 Days In and began thinking of himself as one of the inmates.

Sheriff Dance sums up the Jamil problem perfectly in a 60 Days In Season 8 reunion preview clip. “We have to remember, Jamil became an inmate,” she says.

Jamil identifying as an inmate meant he was reluctant to share any information that might be perceived as snitching. As evidenced by the jail cameras and footage seen by 60 Days In viewers, Jamil was well aware of the seemingly rampant drug use in Pitt County Detention Center. However, he refused to acknowledge that to Sheriff Dance and Captain Capehart during his debrief.

The reluctance to snitch has apparently not diminished. Jamil’s blind eye towards the presence and use of drugs at PCDC will clearly be a major topic at the reunion.

Oh, and Jamil put on an inmate talent show.

If you’re looking to catch up before the reunion, you can stream 60 Days In Season 8 episodes at www.aetv.com!

Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com