''Prison Break'' is an American
serial drama
In television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
created by
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring (born November 20, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director of films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film ''A Man Apart'' and the creation of the television drama ''Prison Break'', for which he was also cr ...
for
Fox. The series revolves around two brothers,
Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The plot of ''Prison Break'' revolves around Lincoln being framed for the murder of the v ...
(
Dominic Purcell
Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in ...
) and
Michael Scofield
Michael Scofield, portrayed by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The character first appeared in the series pilot, in which he deliberately goe ...
(
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...
); Burrows has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, while Scofield devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison and clear his name. Along with creator Paul Scheuring, the series is executive-produced by
Matt Olmstead
Matt Olmstead is an American writer and producer for television shows.
Biography
Early life
Olmstead graduated from California State University, Chico in 1988. He is an alumnus of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He went to Hollywood i ...
,
Kevin Hooks
Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''.
Ea ...
,
Marty Adelstein
Martin Bruce Adelstein is an American television producer. Before becoming a producer, he was a partner at the Endeavor Talent Agency, where he was one of the founding members. As of 2019, Adelstein is the CEO and founder of Tomorrow Studios, a jo ...
, Dawn Parouse,
Neal H. Moritz, and
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the ''Rush Hour'' film series, '' The Family Man'', '' Red Dragon'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and ''Tower Heist''. He is also a producer of several film ...
who directed the pilot episode. The series' theme music, composed by
Ramin Djawadi
Ramin Djawadi (, fa, رامین جوادی; born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian and German score composer. He is known for his scores for the 2008 Marvel film ''Iron Man'' and the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Gramm ...
, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006.
''Prison Break'' is a joint production between
Original Film
Original Film is an American film and television production company founded by Neal H. Moritz. Notable films the company has produced include the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise.
History
Original Film was started out in the early 1990s by Neal ...
, Adelstein/Parouse Productions (seasons 1–4), Dawn Olmstead Productions (season 5), Adelstein Productions (season 5), One Light Road Productions (season 5) and
20th Century Fox Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Co ...
, and is syndicated by
20th Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
.
The series was originally turned down by Fox in 2003, which was concerned about the long-term prospects of such a series. Following the popularity of serialized prime time television series ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
* Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
*Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and ''
24'', Fox decided to back production in 2004. The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics with universal acclaim from audiences. Furthermore, it performed exceptionally in the ratings and was originally planned for a 13-episode run, but was extended to include an extra nine episodes due to its popularity. The subsequent seasons continued to receive strong ratings, however, with some critics claiming the show had overstayed its welcome. ''Prison Break'' was nominated for several industry awards, including the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama and the 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama, which it won. In the United States, all five seasons have been released on DVD and released on Blu-ray internationally.
The success of the series has spawned several official tie-ins: a video game, the spin-off series ''
Prison Break: Proof of Innocence'' for mobile phones, online webisodes, an official magazine, and a novel. The fourth season of ''Prison Break'' returned from its mid-season break in a new timeslot on April 17, 2009, for the series' last six episodes.
Two additional episodes, titled "The Old Ball and Chain" and "Free" were produced, and were later transformed into a standalone feature, titled ''
The Final Break''. Its events take place before the last scene of the series finale, and conclude the plotlines. The feature was released on DVD and Blu-ray July 21, 2009.
A nine-episode
fifth season was announced by Fox in January 2016. The
revival series premiered on April 4, 2017, and concluded on May 30.
In January 2018, Fox confirmed that season 6 was in early development; however, in August 2019, Fox announced that it had no current plans to revive ''Prison Break'', with Miller stating in late 2020 that he had no plan to return to the series.
Series overview
Season 1
The first season follows the rescue of
Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The plot of ''Prison Break'' revolves around Lincoln being framed for the murder of the v ...
, who is accused of murdering
Terrence Steadman, the brother of
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...
,
Caroline Reynolds
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurri ...
. Lincoln is sentenced to death and is incarcerated in Fox River State Penitentiary where he awaits his execution. Lincoln's brother, brilliant structural engineer
Michael Scofield
Michael Scofield, portrayed by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The character first appeared in the series pilot, in which he deliberately goe ...
, is convinced of Lincoln's innocence and formulates an elaborate escape plan. In order to gain access to Fox River, Michael commits an armed robbery which results in him being sentenced to Fox River. In prison, Michael befriends the prison doctor
Sara Tancredi
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
when he pretends to suffer from
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar f ...
, in order to gain daily access to the prison's infirmary, where he receives his daily
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism ...
shots. The brothers' fight to ward off the execution is aided by their lifelong friend
Veronica Donovan
This is a list of characters in the American television series '' Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurri ...
, who begins to investigate the conspiracy that put Lincoln in jail. However, they are hindered by covert agents, members of an organization called "The Company". The Company was responsible for framing Lincoln, and they did so because of Lincoln's father
Aldo Burrows
This is a list of characters in the American television series '' Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
, and his former connections with The Company. The brothers, along with six inmates,
Fernando Sucre
Fernando Sucre, played by Amaury Nolasco, is a fictional character from the American television series, '' Prison Break''. He is introduced to the series in the pilot episode as the prison cellmate of the series protagonist, Michael Scofield (pla ...
,
Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell,
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin, played by Rockmond Dunbar, is a fictional character from the American television series, ''Prison Break''. The character was introduced as a prisoner in the pilot episode. The actor was promoted from a recurr ...
,
David "Tweener" Apolskis
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurri ...
,
John Abruzzi
This is a list of characters in the United States, American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Ensemble cast, Main c ...
, and
Charles "Haywire" Patoshik
This is a list of characters in the American television series '' Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
, who come to be known as the Fox River Eight, escape in the season's penultimate episode by using their prison privileges to dig an escape tunnel underneath the prison.
Season 2
The second season begins eight hours after the escape, focusing mainly on the eight escapees. Series creator Paul Scheuring describes the second season as "''
The Fugitive'' times eight" and likens it to the "second half of ''
The Great Escape''."
The fugitives split up and journey to locations across the country with the authorities close behind them as they each pursue their individual goals.
Brad Bellick
Bradley Bellick is a fictional character from the American television series, '' Prison Break''. He is portrayed by Wade Williams. As one of the principal characters of ''Prison Break'', he has been featured in the first four seasons of the serie ...
gets fired from the prison where he worked as the main guard and chases after the inmates himself for the reward money. Several of the escapees reunite in search of a large cache of money buried long ago by another Fox River inmate,
Charles Westmoreland
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
. Federal agent
Alexander Mahone
Alexander "Alex" Mahone is a fictional character portrayed by William Fichtner in the American television series '' Prison Break''. Mahone is introduced in the premiere of the second season as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investi ...
is assigned to track down and capture the eight fugitives, but is revealed to be working for The Company, which wants all eight men dead. When Sara discovers her father, Governor
Frank Tancredi
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
, has been killed, she meets with Michael, remaining with him as the brothers try to bring down now-President Reynolds, a Company member. To ensure the brothers' safety, Sara allows herself to be arrested and faces trial. During the trial, the testimony of former
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. Fo ...
agent
Paul Kellerman
Paul Kellerman, played by Paul Adelstein, is a fictional character from the American television series, ''Prison Break''. The character was introduced to the series as a Secret Service special agent in the series pilot, but the actor was not lis ...
, who used to work for The Company-controlled President, exonerates Lincoln and Sara. Half of the escapees are killed or recaptured, but the brothers make it to Panama. Michael, T-Bag, Mahone, and Bellick are arrested by the Panamanian authorities and imprisoned at the Penitenciaría Federal de Sona.
Season 3
The third season follows Michael inside Sona and Lincoln on the outside in Panama. Sona is a prison run by the inmates and guarded only from the outside, due to a riot the year before. Inmates are only supplied with food and water and are expected to distribute and serve fellow inmates independently. The surrounding landscape is monitored by armed guards, who shoot at the sight of inmates escaping. Burrows is quickly contacted by
Gretchen Morgan
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
(a Company's operative who was in charge of operations in Panama) who kidnapped his son
LJ and Sara, the woman Michael loves. He is told that The Company wants Scofield to break
James Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
out of Sona. The season follows Michael and Whistler's trials in formulating an escape plan, as Michael has to deal with extreme tension and as Lincoln deals with The Company's operative Gretchen Morgan. Sucre gets a job at the prison to aid Michael in his escape plan. When Lincoln attempts to rescue Sara and LJ following a clue provided by Sara, Gretchen claims to have beheaded Sara and sends Lincoln a head in a box as a warning. As the season ends, the pair manage to escape along with Mahone, and another inmate, Luis, leaving behind several accomplices including T-Bag and Bellick. Sucre's identity is discovered by a prison guard and he is thrown into Sona just after the escape. LJ and Sofia (who was captured for a guarantee that Whistler would go with her) are traded for Whistler, and Michael seeks revenge against Gretchen for Sara's death.
Season 4
The major storyline for the fourth season is about a team recruited by
Homeland Security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...
agent
Don Self
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
to obtain Scylla. Although the team initially believes it to be The Company's "black book," it is later revealed to contain information on an advanced renewable power cell. Over the course of the first half of the season, the team obtains cards to access Scylla and breaks into The Company's headquarters to steal it, Sara is discovered to be alive, Bellick dies when he sacrifices himself, and Self is revealed to be a double agent intent on selling Scylla to the highest bidder. Reluctantly, Lincoln decides to join The Company to get it back, while Michael suffers from a
hypothalamic hamartoma
Tuber cinereum hamartoma is a benign tumor in which a disorganized collection of neurons and glia accumulate at the tuber cinereum of the hypothalamus on the floor of the third ventricle. It is a congenital malformation, included on the spectru ...
. He is treated and operated on by The Company. Michael later learns that his mother,
Christina is still alive and was an agent of The Company, who is revealed to acquire Scylla to sell to the highest bidder. Eventually, the series' main storyline of the past 4 seasons ends in Miami, where Scylla is recovered by Michael and the team, the General and The Company are taken down, and Sara kills Christina.
The last two episodes of the season represent the series finale. In the penultimate episode, Sara is seen buying flowers in Panama with her toddler son, Michael, before visiting Michael's grave with Lincoln, Sucre and Mahone. The final episode and television movie ''
Prison Break: The Final Break'' show what happened between the takedown of The Company and Michael's death. This story involves the incarceration of Sara in Miami-Dade county penitentiary for Christina's murder. The General and T-Bag are in the adjacent men's facility. The General wants Sara dead and has put a $100,000 bounty on her. Michael hears of the bounty and devises a plan to break Sara out. In the end, knowing that he is dying from a brain tumor, Michael sacrifices himself for Sara to escape.
Season 5
In June 2015, it was reported that a revival was in development at Fox. The limited series is a sequel to the original series, taking place several years later and features
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...
and
Dominic Purcell
Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in ...
reprising their roles as well as the return of series creator
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring (born November 20, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director of films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film ''A Man Apart'' and the creation of the television drama ''Prison Break'', for which he was also cr ...
. Despite Michael being killed in the
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
, Fox CEO
Dana Walden said that the series will provide "a logical and believable explanation to why the characters are alive and still moving around the world". In January 2016, Fox officially ordered the revival to series, with the episode order revised to nine episodes. In March 2016, it was confirmed that
Sarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Sara Tancredi in Fox's ''Prison Break'' and as Lori Grimes in AMC's '' The Walking Dead''. She has also starred as Katie Bowman in USA Network's ''Col ...
,
Amaury Nolasco
Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series ''Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''.
Early life
Nolasco was born ...
,
Robert Knepper,
Rockmond Dunbar
Rockmond Dunbar (born January 11, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series '' Earth 2'', Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama ''Soul Food'', and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama ...
and
Paul Adelstein
Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor and writer, known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama '' Private Prac ...
would reprise their roles.
Filming began in April 2016 in Vancouver, and several Moroccan cities including Rabat, Casablanca, and Ouarzazate.
It debuted on April 4, 2017, and aired on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm.
Cast and characters
![Prison Break Cast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Prison_Break_Cast.jpg)
''Prison Break'' maintains an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast t ...
for each season along with many recurring guest stars. The first season features a cast of ten actors who receive
star billing
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works. Information given in billing usually consists of the companies, actors, dire ...
, who were based in Chicago or at Fox River State Penitentiary.
The second season features a cast of nine actors who receive billing; three characters are downgraded from series regular to recurring status, another is upgraded, and a new character is introduced.
The third season introduces four new characters; two of whom are prisoners at Penitenciaría Federal de Sona.
Most of the changes in the cast have been due to character deaths. Series creator, Paul Scheuring, explains that killing off major characters "makes the audience that much more fearful for our protagonists" and that "it actually does help us in terms of reducing story lines".
The two protagonists of the series, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, are the only characters to have appeared in every episode of the series.
*
Dominic Purcell
Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in ...
as
Lincoln Burrows
Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The plot of ''Prison Break'' revolves around Lincoln being framed for the murder of the v ...
: Lincoln is a high school drop-out and a convicted felon, who is wrongfully convicted of the murder of Terence Steadman, the brother of the
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...
. Purcell was cast three days before the start of production and consequently, he was the last actor to join the original cast.
He auditioned for the role while he had a recurring role as Tommy Ravetto on ''
North Shore''. Since working on ''
John Doe
John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
'', Purcell has had an amiable relationship with Fox. Hence, he was sent the pilot script of ''Prison Break''.
Scheuring's first impression of Purcell did not convince him as a fit for the role since the actor went to the audition with his hair styled and a tan. However, Purcell's acting won the role. He arrived on the set on the first day of filming with a shaved head, which amazed Scheuring with the physical likeness of the series' two leading actors.
*
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...
as
Michael Scofield
Michael Scofield, portrayed by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The character first appeared in the series pilot, in which he deliberately goe ...
: Michael is Lincoln's brother (his last name is his mother's
maiden name
When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also use ...
), and worked as a
structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economi ...
before devoting full-time to his brother's case. In order to save his brother's life, Michael creates an elaborate plan to help his brother escape from prison. In an interview, Paul Scheuring recalled that most of the actors who tested for the role "would come in playing mysterious, but it was so cheesy and false."
A week before the start of production, Miller auditioned for the role and impressed Scheuring with his performance; he was cast the following day.
*
Amaury Nolasco
Amaury Nolasco Garrido (born December 24, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series ''Prison Break'', and for his role in ''Transformers''.
Early life
Nolasco was born ...
as
Fernando Sucre
Fernando Sucre, played by Amaury Nolasco, is a fictional character from the American television series, '' Prison Break''. He is introduced to the series in the pilot episode as the prison cellmate of the series protagonist, Michael Scofield (pla ...
: Sucre develops a friendship with Michael during time at Fox River State Penitentiary, where he was his cell-mate. Initially, his character's story focuses on his wish to reunite with his fiancée. Upon receiving the pilot script, Nolasco's first thought was that it was "one of those failed pilots that the network did not really want" since most of the series' pilots would have started production by that time. Admitting that he does not like to read, Nolasco was amazed that the script was a "huge page-turner". Prior to his last audition for the role, Nolasco recalled his nervousness, which grew when Paul Scheuring told him that he was their favorite choice. Subsequently, he was cast in the role.
*
Robert Knepper as
Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell: T-Bag appears in all five seasons of the series as a cunning, violent, and manipulative psychopath, consistently underestimated by those around him. T-Bag will stop at nothing to get what he wants and lets nothing stand in his way.
*
Robin Tunney
Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films '' Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...
as
Veronica Donovan
This is a list of characters in the American television series '' Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurri ...
(seasons 1–2): Veronica is Michael and Lincoln's childhood friend who decides to review Lincoln's case at Michael's insistence. She becomes Lincoln's lawyer and appears as a major character in the first season. She also stars in the first episode of the second season.
*
Peter Stormare
Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm (born August 27, 1953), better known as Peter Stormare (), is a Swedish actor who holds both Swedish and American citizenship. He played Gaear Grimsrud in the film '' Fargo'' (1996) and John Abruzzi in the television ser ...
as
John Abruzzi
This is a list of characters in the United States, American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Ensemble cast, Main c ...
(seasons 1–2): Due to his role as the leader of a Chicago mafia, Abruzzi became a prominent figure at Fox River State Penitentiary. He agrees to provide an escape jet plane for Michael in exchange for the location of the eyewitness to his crimes, Otto Fibonacci. He appears regularly in the first half of the first season and makes selected appearances towards the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season.
*
Marshall Allman
Marshall Scot Allman (born April 5, 1984) is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on the Fox television series ''Prison Break''. He is also known for playing Tommy Mickens on ''True Blood''.
Earl ...
as Lincoln "L. J." Burrows Jr. (seasons 1–4): L. J. is the teenage son of Lincoln Burrows and is greatly affected by his father's death sentence. He is forced into hiding after he becomes the target of the people who want Lincoln dead.
*
Wade Williams
Wade Andrew Williams (born December 24, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his various character roles, and for a major supporting role as correctional officer Brad Bellick on the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and Father Cronin ...
as
Brad Bellick
Bradley Bellick is a fictional character from the American television series, '' Prison Break''. He is portrayed by Wade Williams. As one of the principal characters of ''Prison Break'', he has been featured in the first four seasons of the serie ...
(seasons 1–4): Bellick is introduced as the captain of Fox River's correctional officers. After reading the pilot script, Williams initially did not want to portray the role of Bellick because the character was "horrible and despicable". His reluctance stemmed from being the father of a four-year-old daughter. However, his manager persuaded him to audition and Williams landed the role.
*
Sarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Sara Tancredi in Fox's ''Prison Break'' and as Lori Grimes in AMC's '' The Walking Dead''. She has also starred as Katie Bowman in USA Network's ''Col ...
as
Sara Tancredi
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
(seasons 1–2, 4–5): Sara is the prison doctor at Fox River and the daughter of Governor Frank Tancredi, who is linked into the plot that brings Lincoln to Fox River. She takes a liking to Michael and eventually aids his escape. She ultimately joins them on the run. Callies was the first actress the producers saw at the audition for the role of Sara Tancredi and was also the first to become a principal cast member.
[''Prison Break Season 1 DVD'', (2006), audio commentary from episode " Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1)".]
*
Paul Adelstein
Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor and writer, known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama '' Private Prac ...
as
Paul Kellerman
Paul Kellerman, played by Paul Adelstein, is a fictional character from the American television series, ''Prison Break''. The character was introduced to the series as a Secret Service special agent in the series pilot, but the actor was not lis ...
(seasons 1–2, 4–5): Kellerman was introduced as a Secret Service agent working for the Vice President to make sure that the execution of Lincoln Burrows goes smoothly. He appears as a major character in the first and second seasons.
*
Rockmond Dunbar
Rockmond Dunbar (born January 11, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series '' Earth 2'', Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama ''Soul Food'', and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama ...
as
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin, played by Rockmond Dunbar, is a fictional character from the American television series, ''Prison Break''. The character was introduced as a prisoner in the pilot episode. The actor was promoted from a recurr ...
(seasons 1–2, 4–5): Desperate for his family, C-Note blackmails Michael at Fox River to join his escape team. He appears in the series as a major character in the first and second seasons.
*
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on '' Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski o ...
as
Alexander Mahone
Alexander "Alex" Mahone is a fictional character portrayed by William Fichtner in the American television series '' Prison Break''. Mahone is introduced in the premiere of the second season as a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investi ...
(seasons 2–4): Introduced as an FBI agent in the second season, Mahone's assignment was to locate the fugitives. Mahone is intellectually matched with Michael and his background unfolds as the series progresses. In the third season he finds himself incarcerated with Michael in Sona and is eventually forced to become his ally through the fourth season.
*
Chris Vance as
James Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
(seasons 3–4): Whistler is incarcerated in Sona for the murder of the Mayor's son and appears as a major character in the third season. He also stars in the first episode of the fourth season.
*
Robert Wisdom
Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in '' The Wire,'' Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Harold Conway in the 2021 Hulu movie ''Vacation Friends''.
...
as
Norman "Lechero" St. John (season 3): Appearing as a major character in the third season, Lechero is a prisoner at Sona who rules the prison as a dictator and a Panamanian drug kingpin.
*
Danay Garcia as
Sofia Lugo
This is a list of characters in the United States, American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Ensemble cast, Main c ...
(seasons 3–4): Sofia was introduced in the third season as Whistler's girlfriend. At the beginning of the fourth season, she begins dating Lincoln Burrows.
*
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (born October 10, 1978) is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She came to prominence as Cassidy Bridges on the television series '' Nash Bridges'' (1996–2001) and played Gretchen Morgan on '' Prison Break'' (20 ...
as
Gretchen Morgan
This is a list of characters in the American television series ''Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurr ...
(seasons 3–4): Introduced as "Susan B. Anthony", Gretchen is an operative for The Company who is in charge of ensuring the escape of James Whistler.
*
Michael Rapaport
Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), '' Higher Learning ...
as
Donald Self
This is a list of characters in the American television series '' Prison Break''. The characters are listed alphabetically by their last name or by the name which appears in the episode credits.
Overview
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recur ...
(season 4): Introduced in the fourth season, Self is a
Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
special agent who teams up with the gang to take down The Company.
*
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Feuerstein (; born June 8, 1971) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He had an early, recurring role in several episodes of '' Caroline in the City'', playing the title character's new boyfriend, and later gained notice in a ...
as Jacob Anton Ness (season 5): Introduced in the fifth season, Jacob is Sara's new husband and an economics professor who is later revealed to be a rogue
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
operative who is responsible for Michael's disappearance.
*
Inbar Lavi
Inbar Lavi ( he, ענבר לביא, born October 27, 1986) is an actress. She is known for portraying Raviva on the 2012 MTV series '' Underemployed'', Vee on the 2014 Fox television series '' Gang Related'', and Sheba on the Fox series '' Pr ...
as Sheba (season 5): The leader of a resistance against
ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
in Yemen, Sheba appears as C-Note's friend and Lincoln's love interest.
*
Augustus Prew
Augustus Prew (born 17 September 1987) is an English film and television actor. He is known for his roles in '' About a Boy'' (2002), ''The Secret of Moonacre'' (2008), '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010), '' The Borgias'' (2011), '' Kick-Ass 2'' (20 ...
as David "Whip" Martin (season 5): Michael's cellmate and partner in the fifth season, as well as T-Bag's illegitimate son. He is the muscle to back up Michael, often called Michael's whip hand.
Production
Conception
The original concept of ''Prison Break''—a man deliberately getting himself sent to prison in order to help someone escape—was suggested to
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring (born November 20, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director of films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film ''A Man Apart'' and the creation of the television drama ''Prison Break'', for which he was also cr ...
by producer Dawn Parouse, who wanted to produce an action-oriented series. Although Scheuring thought it was a good idea, he was initially stumped as to why someone would embark on such a mission or how he could develop it into a viable television show. He came up with the story of the wrongfully accused brother, and began working on the plot outline and devising the characters. In 2003, he pitched the idea to the
Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an Television in the United States, American Commercial broadcasting, commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by Fox C ...
but was turned down as Fox felt nervous about the long-term possibilities of such a series. He subsequently showed the concept to other channels but was also turned down as it was thought to be more suited for a film project than a television series.
''Prison Break'' was later considered as a possible 14-part
miniseries, which drew the interest of
Steven Spielberg before his departure due to his involvement with ''
War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
''. Thus, the miniseries never materialized. Following the huge popularity of
serialized prime time television series such as ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
* Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
*Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and ''
24'', Fox backed the production in 2004. The pilot episode was filmed one year after Scheuring wrote the script.
Filming
![Joliet State Prison (10045283735)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Joliet_State_Prison_%2810045283735%29.jpg)
The majority of the first season was filmed on location in and around Chicago.
Joliet Prison Joliet or Jolliet may refer to:
People
* Louis Jolliet (1645–1700), French-Canadian explorer of North America
* Oscar Joliet (1878–1969), Belgian scholar-priest and Catholic Auxiliary bishop of Ghent
Places in the United States
* Joliet, Ill ...
closed in 2002, and in 2005 became the set of ''Prison Break'' as Fox River State Penitentiary.
Scenes set in Lincoln's cell, the infirmary, and the prison yard were all shot on location there.
Lincoln's cell was alleged to be where serial killer
John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994) was an American serial killer and sex offender who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as " ...
was incarcerated, which at least one member of the production crew refused to enter, because it was allegedly haunted.
Other sets were built at the prison, including the cell blocks that housed the general prison population; these blocks had three tiers of cells (instead of the real cell block's four), enlarged for the actors and cameras.
Exterior scenes were filmed in areas around Chicago,
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
, and
Joliet in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. Other locations included
O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and Toronto,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
in Canada. ''Prison Break'' production spent $2 million per episode in the state of Illinois, totaling $24 million in 2005.
Renewed for a second season, ''Prison Break'' resumed filming on June 15, 2006, in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, due to the close proximity of rural and urban settings.
Locations within a 30-minute radius of Dallas included
Little Elm
Little Elm is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, and a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is an extended suburb of Denton; its population was 46,453 as of the 2020 census. In 2000, the census population was at 3,646. By the ...
,
Decatur,
Mineral Wells, and
McKinney
McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas.
The U.S. Census Bureau lis ...
.
Many of these locations were used to represent various American towns.
The show was expected to spend more than $50 million in Texas during the second season.
For the final three episodes of the second season, filming took place in
Pensacola, Florida to represent
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
.
Each episode took eight days to film and contributed approximately $1.4 million to the local economy.
The third season was shot in Dallas and had a budget of $3 million per episode.
Several of the exterior scenes with
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
and
Gretchen negotiating the escape from the
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
jail were shot in the
Casco Viejo
or in Spanish or or in Basque are different names for the medieval neighbourhood of Bilbao, part of the Ibaiondo district. The names mean ''Seven Streets'' or ''Old Town'' respectively and it used to be the walled part of the town until th ...
quarter of
Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
.
The principal photography for the fourth season was relocated to Los Angeles, California.
Music
![Ramin Djawadi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Ramin_Djawadi.jpg)
The theme music of ''Prison Break'' and the
incidental music of each episode was composed by
Ramin Djawadi
Ramin Djawadi (, fa, رامین جوادی; born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian and German score composer. He is known for his scores for the 2008 Marvel film ''Iron Man'' and the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Gramm ...
. The score for the first two seasons is featured in the ''
Prison Break: Original Television Soundtrack'', which was released on August 28, 2007.
Djawadi and
Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...
produced a remix of the theme music titled "
Prison Break Theme (Ferry Corsten Breakout Mix)" as a single, which was released by
Fox Music
Fox Music was the music division label of 20th Century Fox. It encompassed music publishing and licensing businesses, dealing primarily with television and film soundtracks. It was located in Century City, California.
During CEO Robert Kraft's ...
in 2006. In Europe, rapper
Faf Larage's song "
Pas le temps" is used by television network
M6 in France and by
RTL-TVI
RTL-TVI is a private French-language Luxembourg based television station in Belgium owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by the RTL Group until 31 March 2022. Within the French-speaking area of Belgium, it is the mos ...
in Belgium to replace the show's original theme music in the
title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...
, which generated publicity and helped to localize the show.
Format
''Prison Break'' features a
serialized story structure, similar to that of its first season companion show ''24''. At the 2009 TV Critics Press Tour,
Kevin Reilly told reporters that the series would end with the fourth season. Despite decreasing ratings, Reilly attributed the cancellation to creativity. He stated, "The show has just played out. You get to a point creatively where you feel all the stories have been told, and you want to end strong and not gimp out in the end of the season."
Regarding the finale, Reilly stated, "They have a really cool ending, actually. I know where they end, and it's a hell of an idea."
Tattoo
Designed by Tom Berg and created by Tinsley Transfers,
Michael Scofield's tattoo
Michael Scofield, portrayed by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The character first appeared in the series pilot, in which he deliberately goes ...
took around five hours to be applied onto Wentworth Miller. In scenes where the actor is wearing a T-shirt and the entire tattoo is not being shown, only the forearm pieces of the tattoo were applied.
Reception
Ratings
The following seasonal rankings are based on a weighted average total viewers per episode as recorded by
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
. The recording period begins in late September (the start of the U.S. network television season) and ends in late May.
Critical response
The show debuted on August 29, 2005 to an estimated audience of 10.5 million viewers. Fox had not had such success for mid-year Monday numbers since ''
Melrose Place'' and ''
Ally McBeal'' aired in September 1998. The premiere was ranked first in both the 18–49 and 18–34
demographics.
The strong debut performance was matched by positive reviews. ''The New York Times'' wrote, ''Prison Break'' was "more intriguing than most of the new network series, and it certainly is one of the most original", complimenting its ability to create a "suspenseful thriller" and its "authentic look".
Gillian Flynn
Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for writing the thriller and mystery novels, ''Sharp Objects'' (2006), '' Dark Places'' (2009), and '' Gone Girl'' (2012), which are ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' dubbed it one of the best new shows of 2005.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' criticized the "somber pretentiousness" and "uniformly overwrought" performances.
Due to its ratings success, Fox extended ''Prison Break'' by an extra nine episodes, making it the first new series in the 2005–2006 television season to receive a full season order of 22 episodes.
The series averaged 9.2 million viewers per week in its first season.
The premiere of the second season of ''Prison Break'' obtained an average of 9.4 million viewers.
The decline was steeper among young-adult viewers with a decrease of 20% in the 18–49 demographic compared to its series premiere, but its household rating grew from 3.6% to 3.9% during the last half-hour.
Robert Bianco of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' commented on the "harebrained absurdities that have swamped this show", and blamed the writers for being "incredibly lazy" for the continuous use of the tattoo as an "all-purpose plot fix".
In contrast, ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' commended the second-season premiere on matching the standard set by the first season, which delivered "rocking good entertainment" due to its "motley crew of cellblock characters" and the "taut, ingenious storytelling of series creator Paul T. Scheuring and his staff".
The second season obtained its largest audience on the original airdate of the episode, "
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
" with an average of 10.1 million viewers.
Overall, the second season averaged 9.3 million viewers per week.
The third and particularly fourth season received progressively negative reviews, as the show's plot diverged from its origin story of breaking out of prison, and focused more on conventional elements of a government conspiracy drama series.
Season five received mixed reviews. On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the season has an approval rating of 52% based on 21 reviews, with an average score of 6.61/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Prison Break'' recaptures some of its old urgency in its return, but familiar faces and frenetic action aren't enough to make up for a plot that manages to bore while beggaring belief." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the season has a score of 48 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Classification
Concerns were raised by the
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers ...
in the United States about the time slot in which ''Prison Break'' was broadcast (8:00 pm
ET) because of graphic content.
In France, the broadcasting watchdog, Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), also complained that the violence in some episodes exceeded the amount allowed for its rating, which is "not for under 10s". Under France's regulations, any higher ratings would have moved the show away from its primetime timeslot to a later timeslot. However, the decision to change the rating would have affected only the first season, which had already been broadcast, and not the second season.
Awards and nominations
Following a successful airing of the series' first thirteen episodes, ''Prison Break'' was nominated for its first award, the 2005
People's Choice Award
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
for Favorite New TV Drama. The series won the award in January 2006, beating other nominees in the same category, ''
Commander in Chief'' and ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
''. In January 2006, the show had two nominations at the
63rd Golden Globe Awards, which were Best Drama Television Series and Best Actor in a Drama Television Series for
Wentworth Miller
Wentworth Earl Miller III (born June 2, 1972) is an American-British actor and screenwriter. He rose to prominence following his starring role as Michael Scofield in the Fox series ''Prison Break'', for which he received a nomination for the ...
's performance.
Lead actor Wentworth Miller, received another nomination for his performance in the first season at the 2005
Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
for
Best Actor on Television. Likewise, the series was nominated for 2005 Saturn Award for Best Network Television Series. At the 2006
Television Critics Association Awards
The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour.
Due to ...
, the show was nominated for Best New Drama Series.
Nominations for technical awards include the 2006
Eddie Award
Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television (
Mark Helfrich for the pilot episode), and the 2006
Primetime Emmy
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music (
Ramin Djawadi
Ramin Djawadi (, fa, رامین جوادی; born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian and German score composer. He is known for his scores for the 2008 Marvel film ''Iron Man'' and the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Gramm ...
).
In December 2006,
Robert Knepper was nominated for the 2006
Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
Alleged copyright infringement
On October 24, 2006, the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
reported that Donald and Robert Hughes filed a lawsuit against Fox Broadcasting Company and the show's executive producer and creator, Paul Scheuring, for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
, seeking unspecified damages and other costs. They claimed that in 2001, they had sent Fox their manuscript which was based on their own experiences of a prison break at a juvenile facility. In the 1960s, Donald Hughes planned and successfully executed a
prison escape
A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture th ...
for his brother, Robert Hughes, who was wrongfully incarcerated.
Distribution
Television
In Canada, ''Prison Break'' was broadcast on
Global
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
one hour before it aired on Fox, except in the Maritimes where it aired two hours before Fox's airing. ''Prison Break'' was the only new television series to be positioned in the top twenty television shows of 2005–2006 in Canada, achieving an average of 876,000 viewers in the key demographic of 18–49 and 1.4 million viewers nationally for its first season.
''Prison Break'' premiered on Australian television network
Seven on February 1, 2006, to an average audience of 1.94 million.
The first season attracted an overall average of 1.353 million viewers.
After decreasing ratings throughout the second season, Seven decided to fast-track the airing of the third-season episodes.
The fifth season revival moved to
Network Ten and debuted on May 15, 2017.
In the United Kingdom, the first and second seasons premiered on
Five, with the first season being replayed on
UKTV Gold
Gold is a British pay television channel from the UKTV network that was launched in late 1992 as UK Gold before it was rebranded UKTV Gold in 2004. In 2008, it was split into current flagship channel Gold and miscellaneous channel, W (UK TV chan ...
before the second season debuted on Five. Prior to the start of the third season,
Sky One acquired the rights to broadcast ''Prison Break'', paying £500,000 per episode.
The series premiered in France on August 31, 2006, with an average of 5.5 million viewers.
The second season premiered on September 13, 2007, to 5.3 million viewers.
The first season's broadcast in Hong Kong on
TVB Pearl
TVB Pearl is a terrestrial television channel in Hong Kong owned by Television Broadcasts Limited. Established on 19 November 1967, it shares headquarters with TVB's other properties at TVB City at 77 Chun Choi Street in Tseung Kwan O Industr ...
received the largest audience in the country for a foreign drama. The series premiere obtained an average of 260,000 viewers while the first-season finale obtained an average of 470,000 viewers.
The second season's premiere received an average of 270,000 viewers.
Home media
The
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray Disc sets of each season were released after their television broadcast in various regions. At the 2006
International Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typ ...
, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that the complete first season of ''Prison Break'' was to be released on Blu-ray in early 2007.
The release date was later announced to be November 13, 2007, and ''Prison Break'' became the first television show to be released on Blu-ray Disc by Fox. The Blu-ray box set contains six discs and includes all the DVD box set's special features.
A DVD set containing the first three seasons was released on May 19, 2008, in Region 2. The television movie, ''
Prison Break: The Final Break'', was included in the Season 4 set in Regions 2 and 4, but was released separately in Region 1. ''The Final Break'' was later released separately in Regions 2 and 4. In France, Germany and the United Kingdom, a Blu-ray package of all four seasons including ''The Final Break'' has been released. Over a year after its initial release, Season 4 was later re-issued in Region 4 without ''The Final Break'' included.
Online distribution
In addition to the television broadcast of the show, episodes of ''Prison Break'' have also been released on the Internet. Towards the end of the first season, episodes of ''Prison Break'' were made available for purchase online at the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
, which began on May 9, 2006. After the premiere of the second season of ''Prison Break'', Fox began allowing online streaming of the current episode for free via more than 50 websites including
AOL, Google, and Yahoo!, as well as its own extensive network. However, this was restricted to the United States. The first three episodes of the second season were broadcast commercial free, available for a week after their television broadcast date.
Online streaming of episodes was postponed after the third episode. However, due to the show's three-week broadcast hiatus prompted by Fox's broadcast of the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
playoff games in October, a strategy was developed by
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
(the parent company of Fox Broadcasting Company and
MySpace) in an attempt to maintain their viewers' interest in the show. Starting in October, Fox began to stream past episodes of the second season on the social networking site MySpace and websites of the network's
owned and operated stations (the stations are part of the
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Cor ...
). Although commercials were aired throughout the broadcast, the episodes were free of charge.
Other media
Spin-off series
A spin-off series, ''
Prison Break: Proof of Innocence'', was produced exclusively for mobile phones and was broadcast first to
Sprint customers in April 2006 on SprintTV's Fox station. The first episode of ''Proof of Innocence'' became available on the Internet for viewing on May 8, 2006. This was an exclusive deal made between
Toyota Motor
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the Automotive industry#By ...
and
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
's
Fox network, allowing Toyota to sponsor exclusive content of the show and to obtain advertising exclusivity.
During the show's third season, a series of six online shorts, collectively known as ''Prison Break: Visitations'', were made exclusively for Fox. They feature the characters Lechero, Sammy, McGrady, T-Bag, and Bellick. They were distributed on the Internet and are available for free from iTunes.
On October 24, 2007, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' reported that a full spin-off series was under development, tentatively titled ''Prison Break: Cherry Hill''. The series was to revolve around an upper-middle-class housewife, Molly, and her stint in a women's prison.
However, the producers' original idea to introduce Molly in the third season of ''Prison Break'' was later dropped due to the writers' strike. The new series was planned to instead begin under the ''Prison Break'' brand similar to ''
CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'' and ''
CSI: NY
''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...
'',
but ultimately did not go into production.
Connection to ''Breakout Kings''
Robert Knepper reprised his role as
T-Bag
''T-Bag'' is a British television series about the eponymous witch-like character and her assistant, T-Shirt. The series ran from 1985 to 1992 on ''Children's ITV''. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series adopted a different tit ...
in the 2011
A&E Network television series, ''
Breakout Kings'', which was created by a few of ''Prison Break'' writers,
Matt Olmstead
Matt Olmstead is an American writer and producer for television shows.
Biography
Early life
Olmstead graduated from California State University, Chico in 1988. He is an alumnus of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He went to Hollywood i ...
and
Nick Santora.
Magazine, novel, book and comic
In printed media, the show's tie-in products include an official magazine and a tie-in novel. The official magazine, published by Titan Publishing, was launched on November 21, 2006. Each issue contains interviews with selected cast and crew members with other feature stories.
The tie-in novel, ''Prison Break: The Classified FBI Files'' (), contains details of the show's characters pertaining to the second season's storyline. Written by Paul Ruditis, the book is published by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...
and was released on May 8, 2007.
In September 2009, Insight Editions published ''Prison Break: Behind the Scenes'', a companion book featuring production photography, in which writers Christian Trokey and Kalinda Vazquez, as well as
Paul Scheuring
Paul T. Scheuring (born November 20, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director of films and television shows. His work includes the 2003 film ''A Man Apart'' and the creation of the television drama ''Prison Break'', for which he was also cr ...
,
Matt Olmstead
Matt Olmstead is an American writer and producer for television shows.
Biography
Early life
Olmstead graduated from California State University, Chico in 1988. He is an alumnus of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. He went to Hollywood i ...
, and director of photography Fernando Arguelles comment on the show's four-season run.
An official
manga adaptation of the series became available on the online service
Piccoma
Piccoma ( ja, ピッコマ, Pikkoma) is a Japanese webtoon subscription service that is available on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. It was developed and released by Kakao piccoma Corp., the Japanese subsidiary of Kakao.
Service ...
beginning June 23, 2019. Artwork is done by Hikosuke Soyama and the adaptation is under the supervision of Twentieth Century Fox.
Attraction tour
There is also a live feature called "Prison Break LIVE!", created by The
Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company, which is an interactive experience aimed at bringing to life the atmosphere from the television series. The attraction toured the US, Australia, UK, China, Germany and Mexico from 2006 to 2008.
Video games
A mobile game for
J2ME
Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, TV set-top ...
was released by
Vivendi Games Mobile in 2008.
A video game based on ''Prison Break'' was in development for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
for release in February 2009, but was cancelled when Brash Entertainment shut down.
Development of ''
Prison Break: The Conspiracy'' restarted when the game's developer,
ZootFly
ZootFly was a Slovenian video game developer specializing in the development of action adventure games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. ZootFly was a member studio of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).
The studio's m ...
, found a new publisher. The video game was released on March 30, 2010. The game's protagonist is Tom Paxton, a Company employee who is sent inside of Fox River to observe and report every move of
Michael Scofield
Michael Scofield, portrayed by Wentworth Miller, is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the American television series '' Prison Break''. The character first appeared in the series pilot, in which he deliberately goe ...
. The game features voices from the original cast members with the exception of
Sarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Sara Tancredi in Fox's ''Prison Break'' and as Lori Grimes in AMC's '' The Walking Dead''. She has also starred as Katie Bowman in USA Network's ''Col ...
(
Dr. Sara Tancredi).
International adaptation
In April 2010, it was announced that the series would be adapted for Russia. On September 20, 2010, the Russian adaptation premiered on
Channel One.
This adaptation uses many of the features of the original series, with some scenes and dialogue copied completely, but also introduces new storylines and characters which reflect the Russian reality.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2000s American crime drama television series
2010s American crime drama television series
2000s prison television series
2010s prison television series
2005 American television series debuts
2009 American television series endings
2017 American television series debuts
2017 American television series endings
American action television series
Crime thriller television series
English-language television shows
Fox Broadcasting Company original programming
American prison television series
Serial drama television series
Thriller television series
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
American television series revived after cancellation
Television shows filmed in Los Angeles
Television shows filmed in Florida
Television shows set in Chicago
Television shows set in Los Angeles
Fiction about prison escapes