When it comes to entertainment, people are always looking for the next big thing. And sometimes, that thing is a good TV show set in prison. The best prison series are the ones that make you remember why you love the genre in the first place: they’re uncompromising, they’re realistic (most of the time, at least), and above all, they’re full of intriguing characters who were just trying to get by in life before things went south. It’s always interesting to get a glimpse of what it’s like to be stuck in an enclosed area with people who have no regard for your personal space or, sometimes, who possess barely any shred of humanity whatsoever.
With so many great prison shows and docuseries, how do you choose which one to watch next? Whether you’re in the mood for a lighthearted comedy about a convict trying to go straight or something more dramatic and gritty, we have the one for you! We’ve rounded up some fan favorites here, but let us know if we missed any gems.
#1 Wentworth
2013 | 8 seasons
Wentworth is an Australian show set in a women’s prison, and it’s got all the drama of Orange Is The New Black but with a lot more blood and gore. The show follows Bea Smith, sent to Wentworth after being charged with attempted murder. However, she quickly finds herself embroiled in an intense prison hierarchy, which puts her in danger but also makes her more powerful than ever before.
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#2 Orange Is The New Black
2013 | 7 seasons
Orange Is The New Black has everything you could need from an excellent prison tv show: it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s romantic, it’s heartbreaking, it’s terrifying, and it makes you think about how unfair the world can be. But even though the show has its heavy moments, it gifted us with episodes of pure joy and hilarity. And it’s so good to witness the rollercoaster of emotions that Piper, Alex, and the rest of this incredible cast of women blessed us with.
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#3 Prison Break
2005 | 5 seasons
If you’re looking for your prison fix, Prison Break is the show for you. The premise is simple: Lincoln Burrows is wrongly sentenced to death for murder. His brother Michael Scofield, sure of his sibling’s innocence, gets himself incarcerated to get Lincoln out of prison. But obviously, it’s not as easy as it sounds. The show follows the brothers’ efforts to break out of the facility and clear their names in the process.
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#4 Oz
1997 | 6 seasons
If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out on one hell of a great show. Oz takes place in the Oswald State Correctional Facility, a fictional maximum-security state prison. Here, the unit manager McManus tries to keep inmates in line through rehabilitation rather than punishment but struggles with the various factions constantly at war with each other.
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#5 60 Days In
2016 | 7 seasons
Ready to turn yourself in? Well, not literally, but this is the closest you’ll get to it. 60 Days In is a prison docuseries that features seven people going undercover for 60 days in a correctional complex to discover illegal activities within the jail that officers and surveillance systems may have missed. The show has been kept secret from inmates, guards, and most officials. Representatives from A&E stated that multiple corrections officers were fired due to the program.
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#6 Girls Incarcerated
2018 | 2 seasons
Girls Incarcerated is the latest prison documentary on Netflix that you need to be watching. It follows the story of the teenage inmates of a juvenile detention center. It’s a raw, honest look at what it’s like to be locked up at such a young age and how the inmates cope with the struggles of being confined while the world keeps going on without them. The docuseries also details their lives outside the facility and how they plan to make amends.
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#7 Escape At Dannemora
2018 | 1 season
Escape At Dannemora is a mini-series based on the real-life Clinton Correctional Facility escape that happened back in 2015. The story follows two convicted murderers — David Sweat and Richard Matt — who fled from a maximum security prison and went on a run through New York State, aided in their escape by two prison employees. The massive manhunt and investigation that followed made headlines in the papers.
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#8 Making A Murderer
2015 | 2 seasons
If you’re looking for a true crime docuseries that’s both gripping and thought-provoking, you need look no further than Netflix’s Making A Murderer. It’s the story of Steven Avery, a man who served 18 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit. Released in 2003 by DNA testing, he got charged again for murder only two years later. The documentary generated tremendous publicity, leading to follow-up interviews and articles with family members and reporters who covered the trials.
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#9 Lockup
2005 | 25 seasons
Lockup is a long-running prison documentary series that follows inmates’ daily lives in different prisons around the US. It gives you a whole new perspective on life inside prison, especially when inmates are provided with personal video cameras to record their most intimate thoughts. The series spanned an entire franchise, with titles such as World Tour, which features prisons outside of the United States, and Life After Lockup, which follows those who have been released and are trying to reintegrate into society.
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#10 Beyond Scared Straight
2011 | 9 seasons
Beyond Scared Straight is a reality show that follows a handful of at-risk teens as they spend up to three days in a penitentiary with real convicts to learn about the reality of life inside prison and what it means to get incarcerated. A follow-up meeting with the teenagers one month later collects their impressions and thoughts on their current lives and the direction they’re going to take.
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#11 Prisoner: Cell Block H
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#12 For Life
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#13 Bad Girls
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#14 Locked Up Abroad
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#15 Prison Playbook
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#16 The Night Of
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#17 Alcatraz
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#18 Hogan’s Heroes
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#19 Breakout Kings
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#20 The 100
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#21 Porridge
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#22 Clink
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#23 Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons
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#24 Jailbirds New Orleans
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#25 Buried
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#26 Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast
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#27 Prisoner Of Love
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#28 Within These Walls
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#29 Captive
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#30 Superjail!
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#31 30 Days
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#32 Kids Behind Bars: Life Or Parole
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#33 The Program: Prison Detox
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#34 Love After Lockup
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#35 Inhuman Resources
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#36 When They See Us
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#37 First And Last
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#38 Women In Prison (1987)
#39 Love During Lockup
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#40 Vis A Vis/Locked Up
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#41 The Prisoner
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