Prison Break is an American television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, while Scofield hatches an elaborate plan to help his brother escape from prison and clear his name.
Along with creator Paul Scheuring, the series’ executive producers are Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal H. Moritz, and Brett Ratner, who directed the pilot episode. The series’ theme music, composed by Ramin Djawadi, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006.[1] Prison Break is a joint production of Original Film, 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. and is syndicated by 20th Television.
The series was originally canceled by Fox in 2003 due to concerns about the long-term prospects of such a series. Due to the popularity of prime-time television series Lost and 24, Fox decided to restart production in 2004. The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics and was generally praised by audiences. In addition, the series performed excellently in the ratings and was originally planned to run for 13 episodes, but was extended by an additional nine episodes due to its popularity.
Subsequent seasons continued to receive high ratings, but some critics claimed the series had gone on too long. 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 Television Drama, which it won. All five seasons have been released on DVD in the United States and internationally on Blu-ray.
The series’ success has spawned several official tie-ins: a video game, the mobile phone spin-off series Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, online webisodes, an official magazine, and a novel. The fourth season of Prison Break returned from its mid-season hiatus on April 17, 2009, in a new timeslot for the series’ final six episodes. Two additional episodes, titled “The Old Ball and Chain” and “Free”, were produced and later adapted into a standalone feature film titled The Final Break. The events take place before the final scene of the series finale and conclude the storylines. The feature was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 21, 2009.