Breakout Kings

:

Season 1
  • Network: A&E
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 6, 2011
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 34
  3. Negative: 3 out of 34
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User Reviews

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  1. Gavinn
    Apr 13, 2011
    4
    So much potential wasted here. Despite a decent cast, apparently the writers can't break out of the formula they are using. Whether by design or sheer lack of imagination, every episode follows the exact same pattern. Guy or gal escapes, hurts/kills people in the process, heads immediately to rendezvous with friend, relative, or acquaintance for [insert reason here], marshals arrive onlySo much potential wasted here. Despite a decent cast, apparently the writers can't break out of the formula they are using. Whether by design or sheer lack of imagination, every episode follows the exact same pattern. Guy or gal escapes, hurts/kills people in the process, heads immediately to rendezvous with friend, relative, or acquaintance for [insert reason here], marshals arrive only to find out they have narrowly missed the suspect. Repeat a few times. Catch up and capture bad guy. Solve personal problem of one of the cops or cons that was alluded to earlier in the episode. End.

    I could forgive a lot for a show that casts a veteran of "The Wire", but unfortunately they go a step further and pretty much put paid on this already troubled show with a completely laughable lack of continuity. They don't pretend to be following even "make believe" law enforcement procedures, let alone real ones. (Crazed convicted child molester is going to the office of the social worker who testified against him. "She doesn't answer her phone? Oh, we better get driving." Followed by the inevitable, " Gee, we just missed him...." Why not...I don't know...call the local cops to go babysit her and make sure she's safe. Or something.) I know sacrifices need to be made in order to spin a good yarn, but one can't help thinking that your average high schooler could sign on to the writing staff and turn out more plausible stories.

    The last thing that bugs me a little bit is that a fair few of the episodes drag discussions about racism into the show for some reason. This typically wouldn't bother me, but in this case it seems a little ironic and meaningless coming from a show about convicts breaking out of prison. ~14% of the U.S. prison population is Caucasian, yet 100% of escapees on the program are white.Any way you try to come up with a logical reason for that decision stinks to high heaven.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Most Discussed TV Season of 2011
66
#66 Most Shared TV Season of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. People Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tom Gliatto
    Mar 10, 2011
    50
    Not a bad concept, but the casting is out of whack. [21 Mar 2011, p.46]
  2. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    Mar 7, 2011
    50
    There are no television breakthroughs in Breakout Kings, a pretty pat procedural that tries a little harder than some of its predecessors.
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  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    Mar 7, 2011
    25
    Breakout Kings is not only dumb and mind-numbingly silly, but what makes it all-the-more terrible is that all this silliness has been stolen from other mind-numbingly-silly shows.
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