TV SERIES · 2005–2017 · USA
Prison Break
- Created by
- Paul T. Scheuring
- Network
- FOX
- Seasons
- 5
- Episodes
- 88
- Studio
- Adelstein/Parouse Productions, 20th Century Fox Television, RAT Entertainment
23 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (23)
- #001
The original concept of Prison Break, in which a man deliberately gets himself sent to prison to help someone escape, was suggested to Paul Scheuring by producer Dawn Parouse, who wanted an action-oriented series.
- #002
Paul Scheuring developed the story of the wrongfully accused brother and began working on the plot outline and characters for Prison Break.
- #003
In 2003, Paul Scheuring pitched Prison Break to the Fox Broadcasting Company, which turned it down over concerns about the series' long-term possibilities; other channels also passed on it, considering the concept better suited to a film than a television series.
- #004
Prison Break was considered as a possible 14-part miniseries that drew Steven Spielberg's interest before he departed because of his involvement with War of the Worlds, so the miniseries never materialized; Fox backed the production in 2004 after serialized prime time series such as 24 and Lost became hugely popular, and the pilot was filmed one year after Scheuring wrote the script.
- #005
Most of Prison Break's first season was shot on location in and around Chicago. Joliet Prison, which had closed in 2002, served in 2005 as the series' Fox River State Penitentiary.
- #006
Prison Break shot scenes set in Lincoln's cell, the infirmary and the prison yard on location at Joliet Prison. Lincoln's cell was alleged to be where serial killer John Wayne Gacy had been incarcerated, and at least one production crew member refused to enter it because it was allegedly haunted.
- #007
Prison Break began filming its second season on June 15, 2006, in Dallas, Texas, chosen because rural and urban settings were close together.
- #008
Locations within a 30-minute radius of Dallas used by Prison Break included Little Elm, Decatur, Mineral Wells and McKinney, many of them standing in for different American towns.
- #009
Prison Break was expected to spend more than $50 million in Texas during its second season.
- #010
The final three episodes of Prison Break's second season were filmed in Pensacola, Florida, standing in for Panama; each episode took eight days to shoot and added about $1.4 million to the local economy.
- #011
The third season of Prison Break was shot in Dallas, with a budget of $3 million per episode.
- #012
For Prison Break, several exterior scenes showing Lincoln and Gretchen negotiating the escape from the Panama jail were filmed in the Casco Viejo quarter of Panama City.
- #013
Principal photography for the fourth season of Prison Break moved to Los Angeles, California.
- #014
Ramin Djawadi composed the theme music for Prison Break as well as the incidental music for each episode.
- #015
The score for Prison Break's first two seasons appears on the Prison Break: Original Television Soundtrack, released on August 28, 2007.
- #016
Ramin Djawadi and Ferry Corsten created a remix of the Prison Break theme titled "Prison Break Theme (Ferry Corsten Breakout Mix)", issued as a single by Fox Music in 2006.
- #017
In France and Belgium, the networks M6 and RTL-TVI replaced Prison Break's original theme music in the title sequence with rapper Faf Larage's song "Pas le temps", a change that drew publicity and helped localize the show.
- #018
Prison Break uses a serialized story structure comparable to that of 24, its companion show during the first season.
- #019
At the 2009 TV Critics Press Tour, Kevin Reilly announced that Prison Break would conclude with its fourth season.
- #020
Kevin Reilly attributed Prison Break's cancellation to creativity rather than declining ratings, saying the show had played out and its stories had been told.
- #021
Kevin Reilly described the Prison Break finale as a strong ending, saying he knew where the show ended and called it a hell of an idea.
- #022
Michael Scofield's tattoo on Prison Break was designed by Tom Berg and created by Tinsley Transfers.
- #023
When Wentworth Miller appeared in a T-shirt and the full tattoo was not shown, only the forearm sections of the tattoo were applied.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Prison Break — Wikipedia
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