Prison Break (2005)
Prison Break is a 2005 action & adventure series created by Paul T. Scheuring. It stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell and Robert Knepper.
Lincoln Burrows sits on death row for a murder he did not commit. His brother Michael Scofield, a structural engineer, gets himself thrown into the same prison with the entire escape route tattooed across his body. Paul Scheuring's Fox thriller runs on that ticking plan: guards, cellmates, a prison doctor, and a conspiracy that reaches far past the walls. Wentworth Miller plays Michael as all contained calculation, Dominic Purcell his blunter, hotter brother. The first season is a tight pressure cooker of blueprints and betrayals, scored with Ramin Djawadi's nervous pulse, before the chase spills out into a wider hunt.
Quick answers
What is Prison Break about?
Lincoln Burrows sits on death row for a murder he did not commit. His brother Michael Scofield, a structural engineer, gets himself thrown into the same prison with the entire escape route tattooed across his body. Paul Scheuring's Fox thriller runs on that ticking plan: guards, cellmates, a prison doctor, and a conspiracy that reaches far past the walls. Wentworth Miller plays Michael as all contained calculation, Dominic Purcell his blunter, hotter brother. The first season is a tight pressure cooker of blueprints and betrayals, scored with Ramin Djawadi's nervous pulse, before the chase spills out into a wider hunt.
When was Prison Break released?
Prison Break was released on 29 August 2005.
How many episodes does Prison Break have?
Prison Break has 88 episodes across 5 seasons.
Who made Prison Break?
Prison Break was created by Paul T. Scheuring.
Where can I watch Prison Break?
Prison Break is available on Hulu, Google Play, Amazon, AppleTV and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Prison Break
Stream: Hulu
Rent: Google Play
Buy: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango at Home, Google Play
Cast
- Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield
- Dominic Purcell as Lincoln Burrows
- Robert Knepper as Theodore 'T-Bag' Bagwell
- Amaury Nolasco as Fernando Sucre
- Wade Williams as Brad Bellick
- Sarah Wayne Callies as Sara Tancredi
- William Fichtner as Alexander Mahone
- Rockmond Dunbar as Benjamin 'C-Note' Franklin
- Paul Adelstein as Paul Kellerman
- Marshall Allman as LJ Burrows
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Gretchen Morgan
- Peter Stormare as John Abruzzi
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A few thoughts on Prison Break
For the same claustrophobic ingenuity, read The Institute, Stephen King's story of gifted kids plotting a break from a secret facility. On film, The Shawshank Redemption remains the definitive slow-burn prison escape, while Escape from Alcatraz strips the genre down to its tense, procedural bones.
Breaking out from the inside, one plan at a time
Michael Scofield plans his escape down to the tattoo, and this set treats confinement as the whole plot. Oz turns Oswald State into an ecosystem to survive, Escape from Alcatraz plots a real breakout from an island cell, Prison Cell 211 spins out of one inmate caught in a riot, Black Bird trades an informant's freedom for a confession, and The Shawshank Redemption plays the long game across decades.
Brothers whose loyalty pulls them deeper into crime
Michael risks everything to get Lincoln out, and these shows keep that same brother-first math running the underworld. Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C. put motorcycle clubs ahead of the law, Mayor of Kingstown runs a family's business through the local prison system, Animal Kingdom watches one nephew try to escape the family that raised him, and Power Book II: Ghost keeps a mother protecting her son's future.
Master planners hiding behind a new identity
Prison Break runs on schematics only Michael understands, and these shows share that same cool-headed genius. Sneaky Pete has a con man wearing a stranger's whole life like a coat, Jett follows a professional thief pulled back for one more precision job, Citadel rebuilds erased spies from scratch, Legends sends undercover agents deep enough to lose track of their real names, and StartUp turns a hustle into an empire.
Fugitives staying one step ahead of the manhunt
Season two turns Michael and Lincoln into men the whole country is chasing, and this cluster stays with the chase. Red Eye follows a fugitive who runs out of runway mid-flight, The Hunting Party assembles a team built to track down escaped killers, The Gringo Hunters chases American fugitives hiding across the Mexican border, and I Will Find You follows a wrongly convicted man who breaks out to prove it.