diff --git a/redis/commands/graph/commands.py b/redis/commands/graph/commands.py
index fa0a9da55f..157f628339 100644
--- a/redis/commands/graph/commands.py
+++ b/redis/commands/graph/commands.py
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ def explain(self, query, params=None):
             query = self._build_params_header(params) + query
 
         plan = self.execute_command("GRAPH.EXPLAIN", self.name, query)
+        if isinstance(plan[0], bytes):
+            plan = [b.decode() for b in plan]
         return "\n".join(plan)
 
     def bulk(self, **kwargs):