How many seasons are there for the series "Prison Break"?

Prison Break account 5 seasons in total, broadcast on Fox between 2005 and 2017.

Created by Paul Scheuring, the series blends action and prison drama centered on an extraordinary escape plan.

Prison Break: How many seasons are there in this series?

The first four seasons were broadcast from the August 29, 2005, to May 15, 2009. A fifth season, which was shorter, returned in April 2017 in the form of an event.

Many fans are expecting a season 6, but it doesn't exist. The original series ended with Michael Scofield. Wentworth Miller announced in 2020 that he would never take on that role again.

Prison Break: release date and number of episodes per season

Each season of Prison Break has its own pace and its own number of episodes. Here is the complete summary of the air dates on Fox.

Season 1 with 22 episodes

Aired on August 29, 2005, to May 15, 2006, this first season lays the groundwork for the series. Michael Scofield voluntarily has himself imprisoned in the prison in Fox River, where his brother Lincoln Burrows is on death row, convicted of a murder he did not commit.

Michael He prepared everything in advance: he did to tattoo the prison floor plans on his chest to hide the escape plan. But unexpected events at the prison and the other inmates complicate every attempt.

The two brothers quickly realize that a conspiracy orchestrated by the Compagnie, an organization as influential as it is dangerous, is the source of their troubles. In their cells, Michael builds relationships with Fernando Sucre, his cellmate, and Sara Tancredi, the prison doctor.

Season 2, with 22 episodes

Aired on August 21, 2006, to April 2, 2007, this season picks up right where the last one left off. Michael, Lincoln and other prisoners have managed to escape of Fox River. They then become the The 8 Most Wanted Fugitives in the United States.

They must now evade both the authorities and the Compagnie, who sends a formidable agent after them: Alex Mahone. For his part, Sara Tancredi is suspected of having helped facilitate the escape.

Season 3 with 13 episodes

Aired on September 17, 2007, to February 18, 2008, this shorter season sees Michael back behind bars, this time in the prison in Sona, in Panama. The Compagnie forces him to organize the escape of a certain James Whistler, or else LJ and Sara, taken hostage, executed.

The roles are reversed: this time, it’s Lincoln who is working behind the scenes to counter the Compagnie, while his brother struggles to survive in a prison where the inmates rule the roost.

Season 4 with 22 episodes

Aired on September 1, 2008, to May 15, 2009, this season marks a turning point. Michael, Lincoln and their allies are joining forces this time to bring down the Compagnie from the inside.

The authorities are offering them a deal: to bring back Scylla, a software program that holds the deepest secrets of the Compagnie, in exchange for their complete freedom. But traitors switch sides at any moment, and no one can really be trusted.

Season 5 with 9 episodes

Before this season, the TV movie «The Last Escape» broadcast on 2009 had wrapped up the series' original story arc. Season 5 picks up from there, 7 years later.

Michael been declared dead since 7 years. In fact, he is being held in prison Ogygia, in Yemen. When T-Bag reveals to Lincoln that his brother is alive, the latter and Sucre immediately began planning his escape. Once free, Michael has only one goal: to find Sara and his son. This season aired from April 4 through May 30, 2017.

Is Season 6 already underway?

He There is no actual Season 6 of Prison Break with the original cast. Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell have both moved on from the series.

On the other hand, a reboot is currently in development at Hulu, the Disney Group's streaming platform, under the direction of the showrunner Elgin James. This is a new version of Prison Break, rather than a direct sequel to Season 5, scheduled for 2026. No teaser or final cast list has been officially announced to date.

Who are the characters in Prison Break?

The story revolves around Michael Scofield (played by Wentworth Miller), who gets a tattoo of the map of the penitentiary in Fox River on his body to free his brother Lincoln Burrows (played by Dominic Purcell), who was wrongly accused of murder.

Several key characters revolve around these two brothers:

• Sara Tancredi (played by Sarah Wayne Callies), the prison doctor.
• Fernando Sucre (played by Amaury Nolasco), his faithful cellmate.
• T-Bag (played by Robert Knepper), the manipulative and unpredictable inmate.
• Alex Mahone (played by William Fichtner), the agent sent after the escapees.
• Brad Bellick (played by Wade Williams), goalkeeper at Fox River.

Little known details about the series

The casting

Wentworth Miller has joined the series just one week before filming begins. Dominic Purcell, ...he was the very last actor cast to play the role of Lincoln Burrows. Both were chosen by the director at the very last minute.

Shooting

All the scenes were filmed in a real prison, the Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois, which has been closed since 2002. The prison in Fox River It remains an imaginary place, but the production teams did everything they could to make the setting as believable as possible.

Scenarios different from the original version

The original plan called for removing Sara Tancredi as soon as season 1. Given the growing popularity of the character played by Sarah Wayne Callies, the screenwriters changed their minds. As a result, several scripts were rewritten along the way to keep Sara longer in history.

The tattoo

Wentworth Miller never had a real tattoo on his body. It was applied to him before each scene. It’s Tom Berg who designed this iconic tattoo based on the prison's floor plans, adding subtle outlines to conceal the escape plan compared to other inmates.

The story

The series is purely fictional. However, two brothers have claimed to have inspired the plot by recounting their own escape from the the 1960s. The story was reportedly rejected by the production team shortly before the launch.

Another interesting detail: the actor Lane Garrison, who plays Tweener (a character killed in season 2), had himself been imprisoned between 2007 and 2009.

You can watch the entire series at streaming on Disney Plus and Canal+. To download it, go to Apple TV, Google Play Movies, the Microsoft Store Where Rakuten TV.

If you like addictive TV shows, you can also check out how many seasons there are of The Walking Dead or of Vikings to get ready for your next parties. And if you're a fan of dark thrillers, check out our selection of movies about serial killers available on Netflix.