Prison Break is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series centers 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 devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison and clear his name. Alongside creator Paul Scheuring, the series is executive-produced by Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal H. Moritz, and Brett Ratner, who directed the pilot episode.

The theme music, composed by Ramin Djawadi, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006. Prison Break is a joint production between 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 initially turned down by Fox in 2003, due to concerns about its long-term prospects. However, following the popularity of serialized prime time television series like Lost and 24, Fox decided to back production in 2004.

The first season received mostly positive reviews from critics and universal acclaim from audiences. It performed exceptionally well in the ratings and was originally planned for a 13-episode run, but was extended by nine episodes due to its popularity. Subsequent seasons continued to receive strong ratings, though some critics felt the show had overstayed its welcome.

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 TV Drama, which it won. In the United States, all five seasons have been released on DVD and Blu-ray internationally. The success of the series has spawned several official tie-ins: a video game, the spin-off series Prison Break: Proof of Innocence for mobile phones, online webisodes, an official magazine, and a novel. The fourth season of Prison Break returned from its mid-season break in a new timeslot on April 17, 2009, for the series’ last six episodes. Two additional episodes, titled “The Old Ball and Chain” and “Free,” were produced and later transformed into a standalone feature, titled The Final Break. These episodes take place before the last scene of the series finale and conclude the plotlines. The feature was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 21, 2009.