No one’s particularly keen about seeing the inside of a prison, but for those infinitely curious, watching a show about one is one of the most harmless ways to do it. These shows often depict people who’ve gotten on the law’s wrong side, but also those who were unfairly locked up. It’s an interesting setting for a human story and a story about human character.
From Black Bird to Oz, the ten best shows about prison depict intricate relationships between inmates and the lives that led to them getting imprisoned, and some are even great comedies, too. Whatever you’re in the mood for, one of these shows, if not all, will be your next great viewing material.
10
‘Porridge’ (1974–1977)
‘Porridge’ (1974–1977)
Created by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
Porridge is a prison-based sitcom set in a fictional prison called HMP Slade. The protagonists are Norman Stanley Fletcher (Ronnie Barker) and Lennie Godber (Richard Beckinsale), who are cellmates at Slade. Their lives are depicted through friendship, but also their confrontations with prison guards. The show is delightfully witty and clever, and it was a historically relevant piece of television across the UK. It’s one of the more humorous approaches to depicting prison life, but comedy belongs in most parts of life, which Porridge expertly proves.
Porridge consistently ranked among Britain’s greatest comedies; one former inmate wrote that Porridge was the go-to TV show when he was serving time in prison, saying that the writers very successfully depicted the relationships between the inmates and the prison guards. The show also contributed some new slang words and neologisms to the English language, leaving a lasting legacy. If the name Richard Beckinsale seems familiar, he is Kate Beckinsale’s father and one of the biggest TV stars of the 1970s.
Porridge
Porridge
- Release Date
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1974 – 1976
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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James Gilbert
- Writers
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Dick Clement
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-
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Christopher Biggins
Lukewarm
9
‘Wentworth’ (2013–2021)
‘Wentworth’ (2013–2021)
Created by Lara Radulovich, David Hannam, and Reg Watson
Wentworth is a modern, gritty reimagining of the classic Australian soap opera called Prisoner. Reg Watson created Prisoner, then Lara Radulovich and David Hannam based Wentworth on his idea, creating a sort of remake and an homage. Wentworth is big and known for its strong character arcs, as well as the often unflinching look at women’s prisons. The star of the show is Danielle Cormack, who carries the show with her powerhouse performance, though Nicole da Silva overtakes her in the number of episodes she appears in.
Wentworth follows Bea Smith (Cormack) for its first four seasons, showing her arrival in prison after being sentenced for the attempted murder of her husband. The series depicts her rise through the prison’s hierarchy, showing some colorful and interesting characters around her along the way. Wentworth has eight seasons and is one of the most watched Australian dramas of all time; the first episode alone remains the most watched on Foxtel, an Australian pay-per-view channel.
Wentworth
- Release Date
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2013 – 2020
- Directors
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Kevin Carlin, Fiona Banks
8
‘Prison Break’ (2005–2017)
‘Prison Break’ (2005–2017)
Created by Paul Scheuring
Prison Break might be the most famous prison-based series around the globe, since it’s still often shown through reruns in certain countries. Everyone knows who Michael Scofield is, including his incredibly ingenious plan to get his brother out of prison. The show still has plenty of worldwide fans, so word of a potential Prison Break reboot isn’t surprising at all. Whether it’s really necessary is a different kind of problem, though.
Prison Break follows Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who gets himself locked up in the same prison as his brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell). Lincoln has been unfairly imprisoned, and Michael has an elaborate plan to get him out, not caring what happens to him along the way. Besides the two iconic brothers, this breakout thriller has brilliant and highly memorable side characters, including Sucre, T-Bag, Abruzzi, Haywire, and C-Note. When you see it, you’ll know what this sentence means. The show has five seasons, but the first two are especially tense and remain fan favorites.
7
‘Locked Up’ (2015–2019)
‘Locked Up’ (2015–2019)
Created by Iván Escobar, Esther Martínez Lobato, Álex Pina, and Daniel Écijas
Álex Pina is the creator of Money Heist, but he was first one of the people in the writers’ room for Vis A Vis, aka Locked Up. The show is available on Netflix and stars Money Heist’s most popular actresses, Najwa Nimri and Alba Flores, who were the definitive fan favorites, Alicia Sierra and Nairobi (respectively). Locked Up is a story about a women’s prison, full of intense twists, turns, and ideas. There are escapes, power plays, gorgeous prison queens, and a lot of action for a show set in a fairly monotone setting.
Locked Up follows Macarena Molina (Maggie Civantos), who gets involved with a married man; after he frames her for embezzlement, she ends up in a maximum security prison with other dangerous inmates. The queen of prison, Zulema (Nimri), takes Macarena under her wing; Macarena takes some time to get used to the tough conditions of the prison. Besides Macarena, viewers quickly find themselves cheering for plenty of other side characters, including Zulema, Saray (Flores), and Rizos (Berta Vázquez).
6
‘Time’ (2021–)
‘Time’ (2021–)
Created by Jimmy McGovern
Jimmy McGovern, creator of Moving On, created Time in 2021, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The show is gripping and portrays prison life and moral dilemmas faced by both inmates and prison guards in what many people say are great and scarily accurate ways. Season 2 stars Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey, and both installments have three episodes each. To make the entire thing feel more accurate and cold, the show was filmed in a decommissioned prison in Shrewsbury.
Season 1 of Time follows former teacher, now prisoner, Mark (Bean), who is completely new to prison life and its dynamics. Mark befriends a prison guard, Eric (Graham), who promises to protect Mark from harm in the harsh prison environment. Time Season 2 follows three women inmates—Orla (Whittaker), Abi (Tamara Lawrance), and Kelsey (Ramsey)—just starting their prison sentences. Both seasons are quite grim and realistic, but they’re also hard to look away from. As with most British series, this one’s a banger, too, and done with great dedication.
5
‘Orange Is the New Black’ (2013–2019)
‘Orange Is the New Black’ (2013–2019)
Created by Jenji Kohan
One of the most iconic streaming shows of all time, Orange Is the New Black, was based on real life. Piper Kerman wrote a memoir depicting her life in prison and transformation, and Jenji Kohan (Weeds) turned it into a groundbreaking dramedy that held us by our imaginary shirt collars for around six years. OITNB is humanizing, emotional, and socially conscious in most episodes, discovering, uncovering, and covering some heavy and often controversial topics. For a long time, OITNB was Netflix’s longest-running original drama, but it’s now being surpassed by Virgin River, which was renewed for season eight before the seventh even came out.
Orange Is the New Black starts off with Piper (Taylor Schilling), who gets sentenced to 15 months in a minimum-security women’s prison called Litchfield. Piper gets sentenced for transporting a suitcase full of drug money for her girlfriend, Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), though she only gets convicted after Alex names her in her trial. Reunited, Piper and Alex spark their relationship once again. However, the show soon turns into a powerful ensemble series, introducing viewers to iconic OITNB characters like Taystee (Danielle Brooks), Red (Kate Mulgrew), and Nicky (Natasha Lyonne).
4
‘The Night Of’ (2016)
‘The Night Of’ (2016)
Created by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian
The Night Of is an underrated crime show, often cited among the greatest HBO miniseries. It’s truly a gripping tale of how the legal system works, especially when it comes to working in the favor of (or against) people of color; the ethical and emotional stakes of the show add a greater impact when you watch how much “gymnastics” are required in getting the law to work in the favor of a man who claims his innocence. While lawyers fight from the outside, prison life eats away at a young man implicated in a murder case, never really clearing up whether he was guilty or not.
The Night Of is about Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American student who borrows his father’s cab to go to a party one night. He picks up a woman, they party, and then they spend the night together. When Naz wakes up in the morning, he sees her dead next to him, without remembering whether he’s the one who killed her. Becoming the primary suspect, Naz is taken as a client by the hardworking and just lawyer John Stone (John Turturro). The Night Of doesn’t seem to care too much whether you believe Naz is guilty or not; it just wants to show you what it takes for someone like him to be heard.
3
‘Black Bird’ (2022)
‘Black Bird’ (2022)
Created by Dennis Lehane
Black Bird is another fairly underrated miniseries with a haunting true story as its inspiration. It’s a six-part show, but it stays in your memory for a long time after you’ve watched it. Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser are powerhouses in it, with Hauser winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of real-life serial killer Larry Hall. The show is highly rated—for good reason—and it’s chilling and often really intense and exciting. A thriller masterclass.
Black Bird follows Jimmy Keene (Egerton), a Chicago-based crook who gets caught tampering with drugs. Due to prior misdemeanors and crimes, Keene gets ten years without a chance of parole; however, an FBI agent approaches him with an offer to drop all charges against him if he agrees to be transferred to a prison for the criminally insane and elicit a confession to several unsolved murders from serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser). Keene, naturally charming and a great storyteller, bonds with Hall, to his own mental detriment. It’s a brilliant show and one of the best thriller miniseries ever made.
2
‘Escape at Dannemora’ (2018)
‘Escape at Dannemora’ (2018)
Created by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin
Escape at Dannemora is also underrated and also a great miniseries based on a true story. This one is much different from Black Bird or The Night Of; it depicts the escape of prisoners Richard Matt and David Sweat, which took place in 2015, and was aided by prison worker Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell. This story was gripping news back in the day, and writers Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin wrote a worthy adaptation, which was directed by Ben Stiller in its entirety. Benicio del Toro, Paul Dano, and Patricia Arquette portray the prison-breaking trio, and it’s hard to decide who gives a better performance out of the three.
Escape at Dannemora is set in the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. The show opens with the arrest of Mitchell (Arquette), Matt (del Toro), and Sweat (Dano), and Mitchell retells the events before the escape. She reveals that she had a secret affair with Sweat during her working hours and explains how Matt became a part of the escape plan. Gritty, dark, and often eerie, Escape at Dannemora captures the feeling of an uneventful life, prison life, and the psyches of the escaped inmates.
1
‘Oz’ (1997–2003)
‘Oz’ (1997–2003)
Created by Tom Fontana
Many say that the first true TV drama was The Sopranos, but Oz beat them to it by two years. Released in 1997, Oz was the first one-hour television drama commissioned by HBO, and it contained a lot of the things the networks were afraid of airing—coarse language, violence, drug use, sex, and—perhaps most controversially—deep dives into the psyches of all sorts of people, from the terrible ones to some good ones. Oz is brutal and relentless, often named claustrophobic and dizzying by critics; set entirely in prison, the great ceiling lights can become too much for anyone to continue binge-watching it.
Oz is short for Oswald State Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison. The name Oz is also an homage to The Wizard of Oz, with one wing of the prison being aptly named Emerald City or Em City; the manager of Em City, Tim McManus (Terry Kinney), emphasizes rehabilitation rather than punishment, balancing the number of people belonging to various factions. Despite his efforts, the inmates still often clash and go through various traumatic experiences. Oz, in the simplest way said, cast a long shadow on TV storytelling; anything after it could only outdo it by little, with The Sopranos becoming its biggest and proudest successor.
