One of the key reasons why Netflix remains the No. 1 streamer is that it carefully curates its programming to include original series and older shows that were originally shown on cable or broadcast networks. Earlier this year, Netflix added Dexter to its lineup, followed by Lost in July. Now, Prison Break has come to the streamer, and it’s our pick for the one Netflix show that you need to stream this August.
Prison Break premiered on Fox in 2005 with a serialized story about a man’s attempt to save his brother from the death penalty by breaking him out of a heavily guarded prison from within. The narrative momentum from that story carried Prison Break through its first two seasons, before it recalibrated for season 3 and again for season 4. In 2017, Prison Break unexpectedly got a fifth season that brought back almost all of the original cast for a new story and one last breakout.
All five seasons of Prison Break are now on Netflix, and we’re sharing the reasons why this show should be the first one you stream this August.
The brotherly bond of Michael and Lincoln
As eventually revealed in a flashback, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), weren’t always on good terms with each other. But when Michael learns that Lincoln is facing the death penalty for a crime he didn’t commit, he sets in motion an elaborate plot to get himself sent to the same prison and help his brother escape.
The exact nature of Michael’s plan is so audacious that we won’t be spoiling it here. But their brotherly bond is so strong that where Michael goes, Lincoln almost always follows. Both of the brothers have leading roles throughout the series, even when they’re physically separated by circumstances beyond their control. Michael and Lincoln are the heart of the show, and Prison Break wouldn’t work without their constant connection.
The supporting cast is memorable
Getting out of Fox Rivers Prison is more than Michael or Lincoln can handle alone. They need help from the inside, and that’s tricky when most of their fellow inmates aren’t exactly trustworthy. The one man they can trust implicitly is Michael’s cellmate, Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco). Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper) is a psychopath, John Abruzzi (Peter Stormare) is a dangerous mob boss, and Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar) just wants to get back to his family.
Most of those supporting characters are so compelling that they recur throughout the entire series even when they aren’t aligned with Michael or Lincoln. Even recurring antagonists Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) and Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner) keep finding their way back into Michael’s orbit because the show’s creative team just didn’t want to let them go.
It’s got a slowburn love story
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan for Michael, but he always needed to get access to the prison infirmary. That’s where Michael meets Dr. Sara Tancredi, as played by The Walking Dead‘s Sarah Wayne Callies. Because Michael has arranged a medical deception in advance, he gets to see Sara regularly in the prison while laying the groundwork for his escape. But when his plans go awry, Michael has to come clean with his intentions.
Michael and Sara spend long stretches of the series separated from each other, but they also find their way back together … no matter how improbable it may seem at times. You’ll understand what that means after watching season 3. Regardless, the connection between this pair is one of the best things about Prison Break, and one of the reasons fans kept coming back was to see if Michael and Sara could finally be together.
When in doubt, go back to prison
This may be considered a spoiler to some, but you can’t call a show Prison Break and only have one breakout from a prison over five seasons. If anything, the show tends to eventually run out of steam when there isn’t a prison to escape from. That’s why the series doesn’t just feature a single prison to escape — it has four, including the two extra episodes of season 4 that were originally released as a direct-to-DVD movie called Prison Break: The Final Break.
The show has a formula and it does it well. One or both of the brothers wind up behind bars, and then they have to find some way to get free and figure out how to stay that way. The Final Break flipped that story by forcing the brothers to rescue someone else, and the show takes some wild turns in the fourth season, which could have derailed the entire series. But on the whole, Prison Break is a very enjoyable show. Since Prison Break has over 90 episodes to stream, that makes it the perfect Netflix show to binge in August.
Watch Prison Break on Netflix.
