Prison Break was an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring, which premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on August 29, 2005, concluded on May 15, 2009 and has a movie The Final Break that aired on May 24, 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other, a genius, devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison. The series is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions, in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television. The current executive producers are head writer Scheuring, co-head writer Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal H. Moritz, and Brett Ratner. The series' theme music is composed by Ramin Djawadi, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006.
The series was originally turned down by Fox in 2003, which was concerned about the long-term prospects of such a series. Following the popularity of serialized prime time television series Lost and 24, Fox decided to back production in 2004. The first season received generally positive reviews, and performed well in the ratings. The first season was originally planned for a 13-episode run, but was extended to include an extra nine episodes due to its popularity. Prison Break has been nominated for several industry awards, and won the 2006 People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. The first three seasons have been released on DVD, while the first and third seasons have also been released on Blu-ray Disc. The series has been aired internationally, including several non-English speaking countries.
The success of the series has also inspired short videos for mobile phones, several official tie-ins in print and on the internet, and a video game in development. A spin-off series, Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, has been produced exclusively for mobile phones. The series has spawned an official magazine and a book written in an in-universe perspective. The fourth season of Prison Break returned from its mid-season break on a new timeslot, Friday at 8/7c PM, on April 17, 2009 for the series' last six episodes.Two additional episodes, titled "The Old Ball and Chain" and "Free" were produced, and were later transformed into a standalone feature, titled "Prison Break: The Final Break". The events of this feature take place before the last scene of the series finale, and are intended to wrap up "loose ends". The feature will be released on DVD and Blu-ra