Prison Break
FOX | Release Date: August 29, 2005
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 55 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
18
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyGillian Flynn
Season 1 Review: Prison Break has the dark social hierarchies of Oz and the clever inventions of Escape From Alcatraz. Read full review
83
NewsdayVerne GayApr 3, 2017
Season 5 Review: Linc’s still tough and impulsive. Michael still has that lonely middle-distance stare. Tuesday’s opener suggests there’s plenty of action ahead, some real-world parallels, and a shaggy dog that could lead us to an interesting place. Hopefully that place will finally be closure. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyAubry D’Arminio
Season 4 Review: Three major characters are killed tonight within the first hour of a pretty stellar premiere. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredJosh WildingApr 3, 2017
Season 5 Review: It’s packed full of great action and enough fun twists and turns to intrigue even those who aren’t totally caught up. Plus, the performances are strong all around, making it easy to get invested in the characters again. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 4 Review: Now it must find a way to become more than a routine action drama pitting plucky good guys against amoral, robotic bad guys. It's got the characters who can do that, though, and it's also streamlined its story enough so even a new viewer can figure out what's going on from tonight's back-to-back premiere episodes. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: If the show can stay as gripping as its premiere... it will be a welcome new prime-time puzzle. Read full review
80
Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan
Season 1 Review: As with "24," the whole enterprise, however action-packed, would fall flat if viewers didn't care about the characters, and "Prison Break" doesn't disappoint. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: Creator and writer Paul T. Scheuring offers this deal with viewers: Suspend credibility on a few key points and, in return, get a series that keeps you glued to the set for a full hour. My advice is to take the deal. Read full review
80
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: One of the best new TV shows this season. Read full review
80
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 1 Review: Within the first 15 minutes, you realize you have jumped onto what could be one hell of a thrill ride. Read full review
80
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: "Prison Break"... is more intriguing than most of the new network series, and it certainly is one of the most original. Read full review
75
The Lincoln Journal StarJeff KorbelikApr 3, 2017
Season 5 Review: Some of the stuff raises an eyebrow, but, heck, the original was that way, too. That was part of the fun. Prison Break was always a guilty pleasure. It remains so for the second go-round. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMar 31, 2017
Season 5 Review: The short run makes the new incarnation of Prison Break action-packed, with just enough down time for the characters to ponder what’s happening to them. Read full review
75
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: Like any over-the-top, conspiracy-laced concept, "Prison Break" will only work if viewers are giddily enticed to jump aboard the Willing Suspension of Disbelief Express. Read full review
75
Houston ChronicleMike McDaniel
Season 1 Review: It's outlandish and contrived with story holes wide enough for a jackknifed 18-wheeler. But the two-hour pilot of Prison Break... is irresistible. Read full review
75
New York PostLinda Stasi
Season 1 Review: The acting here is first rate -- not a bad apple in the whole rotten bunch. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineEd Gonzalez
Season 1 Review: Like Lost, the show seems predicated on an unsustainable premise, but Prison Break is moving along more briskly. Read full review
75
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Prison Break may not hold up as a weekly series; it's much too soon to tell. But by and large it works as a two-hour premiere special, one that grabs your attention from its first scene to its startling cliffhanger ending. Read full review
70
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoApr 3, 2017
Season 5 Review: Prison Break embraces its ridiculousness, allowing you to check out mentally after a long work day. If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, if you want to break down a show more intellectually, there are plenty of other options. Read full review
70
Cleveland Plain DealerMark Dawidziak
Season 1 Review: A riveting, suspenseful, briskly paced drama packed with intriguing performances. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyRobert Abele
Season 1 Review: This could be a brisk and bruising weekly fix. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)John Leonard
Season 1 Review: A preposterous premise...only somewhat distracts from an agreeable escapism and first-rate performances by Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell. Read full review
70
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: It's one tasty piece of lunacy. Read full review
70
SalonHeather Havrilesky
Season 1 Review: The best thing about "Prison Break" is that we've never seen anything like it before. Read full review
70
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: What Prison Break lacks in plausibility--basically, everything--it makes up for in plotting, pacing and panache. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz
Season 1 Review: Forget the preposterousness of the plot -- it's easy enough to do -- and enjoy the suspense, of which there's plenty. Read full review
70
The A.V. Club
Season 1 Review: A lot about this series is frankly preposterous, but as pulp logic goes, Miller's bust-out plan is both ingenious and way cool. Read full review
67
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMar 27, 2017
Season 5 Review: After a crackling good start, Prison Break begins to wobble but doesn’t quite topple in succeeding hours. Read full review
63
People WeeklyTom Gliatto
Season 1 Review: An entertaining big-narrative concept. [5 Sep 2005, p.41]
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