After a seven-year absence on the platform, Netflix added all 90 episodes of the hit crime drama Prison Break in August 2024. The episodes include the fifth and final season, airing on the Fox network in 2017, nine years after Season 4 concluded. Since its addition, the show has remained among the most-watched TV series on Netflix. In 2025, Prison Break will celebrate its 20th anniversary, yet now is the perfect time to watch the show in the lead-up to Hulu’s upcoming reboot.

Given the technological advancements in prison security in the last two decades, the Prison Break reboot will no doubt test the limits of how the convicts mount their escapes. Until the reboot picks up more steam and lands an official release date, now is an opportune time to catch up with the story, characters, world-building, and dramatic crux of the original Prison Break as it continues to soar on Netflix in the US.

What Is Prison Break About?
Fox

Launched in 2005, Prison Break is a popular crime procedural created by Paul Scheuring. The show debuted on Fox in 2005, lasting four seasons until 2008. A much shorter fifth season (nine episodes) was added in 2017, nine years after Season 4 concluded. The plot concerns Michael Schofield (Wentworth Miller), a brilliant structural engineer who concocts a scheme to break his brother out of Fox River State Penitentiary by posing as a prisoner and working from inside.

Michael’s brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), was framed and falsely convicted of murder. As Michael continually strives to bust out of jail and free Lincoln, he is met with institutional resistance at every turn. In addition to facing corrupt law enforcement and upstanding prison security, the brothers deal with antagonistic prisoners, including infamous villain Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper), leader of an Aryan white supremacist gang.

Prison Break was a critical and commercial success upon its release in 2005, leading to several awards and spin-off properties. The series won a 2006 People’s Choice Award for Best New TV Drama. The show was also nominated for two Golden Globes in 2006, including Best Television Series – Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Wentworth Miller). In addition to the awards and accolades, Prison Break spawned a mobile video game, novel, magazine, and internet webisodes.

Netflix Added Prison Break in August 2024 After a Seven-Year Absence
Fox

One of the main reasons Prison Break is an ideal watch in 2024 is its newfound Netflix convenience. The popular streaming platform added Prison Break in August 2024, seven years after the show left the service. Therefore, those who missed out on the show’s initial run on Fox and subsequent airing on Netflix in 2017 can now watch the entire series from beginning to end. For newbies, this is much more convenient than fans who had to wait nine years between the release of Season 4 in 2008 and Season 5 in 2017. With all 90 episodes in one easily accessible place, binging the series has never been more effortless.

The first season of Prison Break was ordered for 13 episodes. When the popular ratings demanded more, nine episodes were added for a 22-episode run. Seasons 2 and 4 also included 22 episodes, while Season 3 aired only 13. The fifth and final season returned nine years later with a much shorter nine-episode story. Watching all 90 episodes after recently being added to Netflix will ensure fans understand what transpires in the 2009 standalone spin-off movie, The Final Break. It will also pay dividends if the long-debated sixth season ever gets produced. However, the real reason to watch Prison Break in 2024 is the impending reboot by Hulu.

Related Prison Break: Where the Cast is Today It’s been almost 20 years since Prison Break first aired. Here’s what the cast has been up to since the series finale.

Hulu is Developing a Prison Break Reboot in 2024
Fox

In November 2023, it was reported that Hulu was developing a Prison Break reboot. While few details were released then, a new development in July 2024 has fans enthralled about the upcoming redo. Speaking with Deadline, one of the original Prison Break producers, Marty Adelstein, claimed the writing process had begun on a reboot, saying “It’s going really well. The first script was really, really well done. They’ve given notes and it looks like it’s on its way.”

Adelstein will be an executive producer on the Hulu reboot, with Mayans M.C. and The Outlaws’ creator Elgin James slated to write the new episodes. In addition to original Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring, original EPs Dawn Olmstead and Neal Moritz will return. Although Wentworth Miller doubts his possible return, no cast members for the Hulu Prison Break reboot have been revealed.

Related 10 Touching Movies About Innocent Prisoners It’s always tough to watch innocent people get punished for the mistakes of others, and these films are particularly heartbreaking.

While details are sparse, ScreenRant has reported that the Prison Break reboot will be “set in the original world but it will explore new aspects.” Prison Break’s original world occurs in Chicago in the fictional Fox River State Penitentiary, where Michael does his best to bust his brother Lincoln out of jail. Although the same location will be used in the reboot, the story is said to explore a “new chapter” and will likely introduce new characters.

Watching the first five seasons of Prison Break while they’re on Netflix is a wise decision for those looking forward to the Hulu reboot, which has yet to lock an official release date. It’s also an ideal way of binging the entire series from front to back, especially for those who waited nearly a decade to see the truncated 5th season. Between the convenience and context provided before the potential sixth season and the official Hulu reboot, Prison Break is just as urgent a watch in 2024 as in 2005.

Prison Break is available to stream on Netflix.