Top 10 TV Shows About Prison

With its name derived from the British slang for doing time, this old school Britcom follows Norman Stanley Fletcher, a man who’s been sentenced to five years in prison. While Fletcher’s considered a “habitual criminal,” his cellmate, Lennie Godber, is pretty green when it comes to life behind bars, and has to learn the ropes of the prison system. As you can imagine, mixing these characters in with a series of other inmates and prison workers – including one particularly gullible guard – makes for some hilarious situations. At the same time, the show kept an underlining current of social commentary on the prison system in Britain, helping cement its status as one of the great British sitcoms.

Moving from British comedy to British drama, this prison show revolves around Lee Kingley, a man who was imprisoned for violence and a firearms offense – justified as his crime may’ve been. While he’s in prison, Kingley deals with issues such as prison corruption, bullying, and inmate violence. Unfortunately for his moral character, Kingley must learn to get to the top of the prison chain in order to survive. The show was well received for its realistic portrayal of prison life and even won the award for Best Drama Series at the BAFTAs, most likely due to its attention to character development and its accurate depiction of the claustrophobia of life inside a prison.

From the minds of Nick Santora and Matt Olmstead, two men behind the successful “Prison Break” – more on that later – comes this drama, which sees U.S. marshals create a task force to capture escaped prison inmates. To do so, the marshals work with inmates, and in exchange, the inmates get time off their sentences. Conversely, if those inmates try to escape, they’ll receive double their original sentence – sounds fair enough. But even with these extreme consequences, authority figures working alongside criminals causes the expected problems. Thanks to mixed reviews, “Breakout Kings” only lasted two seasons; but in that time it was successful at creating tension as viewers watched the team attempt to capture the escapees.

Long before a certain Netflix drama did the same, this British series depicted life in a women’s prison. Because of its broad topic, the show was able to incorporate a huge ensemble cast that included a whole host of inmates throughout its 8 series run, including such ladies as Yvonne Atkins, who was sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder, and Shell Dockley, who was imprisoned for life for murder. Mixing together more amusing storylines with some seriously dark fare like drugs and abuse, “Bad Girls” was critically acclaimed and a hit in the ratings thanks to its gritty and gripping content and performances.

A series that blends spy stuff with sci-fi, surrealism, symbolism and psychological intrigue, “The Prisoner” tracks a secret agent who’s been abducted and brought to a lovely resort town. Sounds all right to us, but there is, of course, a catch: his captors are a little too intrigued with him and why he recently left his spy job. It might not take place in a literal prison with barred-in cells, but as the agent – played by series co-creator Patrick McGoohan – soon discovers, there’s no escape and no one will give him any information. Though it only lasted 17 episodes, “The Prisoner”’s unusual setting and psychological themes of the individual versus the collective had a lasting impact on numerous future shows.

While some of the series on this list may seem like soap operas, this is the only drama series we’ve chosen that actually calls itself a soap. Another drama set inside a women’s correctional facility, “Prisoner” is typical in that it follows various inmates that committed various crimes as they deal with life on the inside. But the day-to-day at Wentworth Detention Centre, as well as its lively characters, helped this show stand out. Notable standouts include Karen Travers and Lynn Warner, two convicted criminals who we see begin their journeys in maximum security. Covering a numbers of themes such as feminism, homosexuality, and social reform, “Prisoner” was a cultural phenomenon in its time.

The phenomenon that was “Prisoner” did not end with its 1986 finale; “Wentworth” revived audiences’ interest in the series by reimagining the story for modern audiences. Now set in present-day Australia, the show this time focuses on Bea Smith as she adjusts to life in Wentworth after being charged with the attempted murder of her husband. While awaiting her trial, Smith must deal with being away from her daughter, and with the new inmates that she’s meeting. Drawing comparisons to shows like “Breaking Bad,” “Wentworth” was an even bigger hit than the show on which it was based, receiving high ratings in Australia thanks to its gritty, realistic portrayal of prison life.

Lincoln Burrows has been sentenced to die for the murder of the brother of the Vice President of the United States. Lincoln’s own brother, Michael Scofield, is an engineer who’s desperate to find a way to bust him out. The plan? Michael gets himself arrested so he and Lincoln can break out together. Of course, along the way they also discover the whole thing was part of a much bigger political conspiracy than we have time to explain here. As you might’ve guessed based on the show’s title, the brothers – along with the rest of the Fox River Eight – succeed in their plan. But that’s just the beginning, and that story was a breakout hit for Fox that lasted four suspenseful seasons.

Based on a memoir by Piper Kerman about her own time as an inmate, “Orange Is the New Black” is a comedy-drama set in – surprise! – a women’s prison. It centers on Piper Chapman, a wealthy, somewhat spoiled woman imprisoned for drug trafficking, a crime she’d committed 10 years previously. But it quickly becomes evident that “OITNB” is an ensemble piece that explores the lives of other inmates of various backgrounds. With breakout characters and a shockingly excellent blend of both the light and the dark, “OITNB” became one of the biggest early successes when it came to Netflix original programming, in large part due to its portrayal of race, gender, and sexuality.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are our honorable mentions:
- “Prisoners’ Wives” (2012-)
- “Deadman Wonderland” (2011)
- “Within These Walls” (1974-78)

One of the first series to really show us what a premium channel like HBO could do in terms of visceral drama, “Oz” follows inmates as they try to survive on the inside of an experimental section of the Oswald State Correctional Facility, aka Oz. Some try to obtain power through drug trades, gambling, and various schemes. Others just want to wait out their sentence. “Oz” took full advantage of its spot on premium cable to present things other prisons shows just couldn’t, which means that the violence and rape might be too much for some viewers to handle. But those who were able to bear those moments were rewarded with stellar acting in this gritty and at times horrific prison series.

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