Fox’s crime dramaPrison Breakran for five original seasons in the mid to late 2000s and starred several actors with successfulTVcareers. Seeing the success of serialized shows likeLostand24, the network had faith in the success ofPrison Break.The series is set in prisonand stars Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller as imprisoned brothers Lincoln Burrows and Michael Scofield. The former is accused of murder and sentenced to death, while the latter gets himself put in prison so he can break his brother out, believing he is innocent.
The thrills and originality established inPrison Breakseason 1 earned widespread acclaim. Though laterseasons ofPrison Breakwould struggle to return to a similar status, the series still had a strong fan base. The response from audiences prompted both a TV film based on the series' characters and a revival season in 2017.Many of Prison Break’s cast are known best for their role in the showdespite having previously acted in well-received shows or doing so following their time onPrison Break. Actors like Rockmond Dunbar and Robin Tunney star in more crime-related series, while other actors appear in medical dramas and superhero shows.
8Terriers (2010)
Starring Rockmond Dunbar As Detective Mark Gustafson
A few years after he made his first appearance inPrison Breakseasons 1 and 2, Rockmond Dunbar had a main role in FX’sTerriers. As another addition to the popular crime-drama genre on TV,Terriersmanaged to feel like something fresh. The series sees two friends, an ex-cop (Donal Logue) and a former criminal (Michael Raymond-James), teaming up to start a private investigation business.Dunbar appears in the series as Detective Mark Gustafson, a close friend and former partner of Logue’s character.
Terriers
Cast
Ex-cop Hank Dolworth and his best friend, Britt Pollack, decide to open their own investigation agency. They try to solve crimes, but the problem is that they prefer to avoid situations of danger and responsibility.
Mark is caught between sticking to the book and controlling crime as a detective and watching as his friend partakes in unauthorized investigations. The writing and performances throughoutTerriersearned praise from critics, as did the series' balance of drama and comedy.Terriers' dark comedy mainly came as a result of the banter between Logue and Raymond-James on screen. Just a few days afterTerriers' season finale, it was announced the show would becanceled after one season.
7Private Practice (2007-2013)
Starring Paul Adelstein As Cooper Freedman
A spin-off series ofGrey’s Anatomy,Private Practicestarred Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery and the series began as she made the move fromSeattle Grace Hospitalto Los Angeles, California to begin working at a private practice. InPrivate Practice, Paul Adelstein plays a co-worker of Addison’s, Cooper Freedman.
Why Prison Break Was Canceled (& Why Season 6 Won’t Happen)
Prison Break, one of Fox’s most successful network television shows, was canceled twice. Here’s why the show ended and a season 6 won’t happen.
Compared to hisPrison Breakcharacter, Cooper has a much softer personalityand is known best for being a strong advocate for his patients, as well as his fruitless dating life. The response to a spin-off series isn’t always positive, as many critics and audiences tend to prefer the original. However,Private Practicewas an exception.
Private Practice
A spin-off Grey’s Anatomy, the medical drama Private Practice stars Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery, as she leaves her former job at Seattle Grace Hospital in order to join a private practice in Los Angeles. The series aired on ABC for six seasons from 2007-2013.
Compared toGrey’s Anatomy, the number of staff and patients surrounding Addison was smaller. This meant more time was spent with each character, which not only better-allowed audiences to connect with each character but also gave space for more mature storylines to form.
6iZombie (2015-2019)
Starring Robert Knepper As Angus McDonough
Robert Knepper has appeared in many notable TV shows throughout his career, includingER,The West Wing, andHeroes.Knepper also had a recurring role in The CW’siZombie.The supernatural procedural series follows Liv Moore (Rose McIver), a zombie who helps solve murder cases by eating the brains of the victims and taking on their memories. Knepper first appeared iniZombieseason 2 before becoming a main character in season 4. Knepper plays Angus McDonough, the abusive father to the brain-dealing zombie, Blaine McDonough.
iZombie
After being turned into a zombie, medical resident Liv must periodically feast on human brains to keep the appearance of being human and takes a job at a morgue to sate her hunger. When she discovers that eating a corpse’s brain gives her temporary access to their skills, traits, and memories, Liv decides to use her talent to help solve murders.
Throughout its five-season run,iZombiereceived high praise from critics, not only for McIver’s leading performance, but for the series' spin on the zombie genre as well. Differing from other popular zombie shows likeThe Walking Dead,iZombieleans into the comedy genre, providing an assortment of lighthearted moments that ground the show. The series' dialogue is quick and witty, bearing a positive resemblance toVeronica Mars, another popular show by series creator Rob Thomas.
5The Mentalist (2008-2015)
Starring Robin Tunney As Teresa Lisbon
In bothPrison BreakandThe Mentalist,Robin Tunney’s characters are involved with the law as a lawyer and senior agentwith the California Bureau of Investigation, respectively.The Mentalistfollows so-called psychic Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) who uses his skills to help the CBI. Tunney’s Teresa Lisbon works closely with Patrick, forming an antagonistic, but close friendship.
The Mentalisthas a lot of similarities with other procedurals, especially USA Network’sPsych.
The beginning ofThe Mentalistfollows a variety of cases but becomes increasingly more focused on a killer connected to Patrick as the series progresses.The Mentalisthas a lot of similarities with other procedurals, especially USA Network’sPsych.
The Mentalist
The Mentalist is centered on a famous psychic, Patrick Jane, who reveals to the world that he is a fake in order to start working for the California Bureau of Investigation. But the motive for his new job is simply to find the man responsible for the death of his wife and daughter.
The latter series leaned more heavily towards the comedy genre, but also saw two individuals who posed as psychics, using their heightened observational skills to solve cases.Despite its lack of originality,The Mentaliststill earned positive remarks from criticsbecause of Baker’s leading performance. For his work inThe Mentalist, Baker earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations.
4Invasion (2005-2006)
Starring William Fichtner As Sheriff Tom Underlay
Before joiningPrison Breakseason 2,William Fichtner played Sheriff Tom Underlay inInvasion. Airing on ABC,Invasionpulled inspiration fromInvasion of the Body Snatchersfor its plot. The sci-fi series was set in a small Floridian town where water-based creatures emerge after a hurricane and begin taking over the bodies of the town’s residents.Invasionwas canceled after one season and left a few burning questions forever unanswered.
Invasion
Invasion is a science fiction series that follows five ordinary individuals worldwide as they navigate the chaos ensuing from an alien species' arrival on Earth. Released in 2021, the narrative unfolds in real-time, capturing humanity’s struggle to comprehend the existential threat.
Still,Invasionreceived high levels of praise for its writing, direction, and performances, especially Fichtner, whose character has a dark secret throughout the series. Admittedly,Invasionhas a slower pace, and it becomes a problem at times when some storylines drag on for longer than needed. However, there are several rewarding aspects ofInvasionto balance this out. The large sense of distrust amongInvasion’s characters, as no one is sure who is or isn’t a clone, results in many satisfying twists and keeps audiences engaged until the very end.
Starring Sarah Wayne Callies As Lori Grimes
Based on a comic book series of the same name,The Walking Deadran for 11 seasons and centered around a large group of people trying to stay alive after surviving a zombie apocalypse. The life-or-death stakes in the series provide emotionally charged storylines and the coming and going of beloved characters. One of the characters is played byPrison Break’s Sarah Wayne Callies.
InThe Walking Dead, Callies plays Lori Grimes, the wife of Rick (Andrew Lincoln). Despite the strong impact of her character’s exit, namely on Rick, the character was never fully well received. Lori is omitted from many lists ofthe bestWalking Deadcharacters, as audiences generally find her to be selfish, unlikable, and poorly written.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is a television series that premiered on August 15, 2025. It follows Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. He embarks on a journey to locate his family, encountering various survivors amidst the chaos.
Critics too had their issues with Lori, but the emotional aspects of her complicated relationship with her husband were praised. Callies' performance received mixed critical reviews throughout her time on the show, but her final moments in season 3 were widely praised as the actress skillfully handled the emotional weight of saying goodbye to her family.
2The Flash (2014-2023)
Starring Wentworth Miller As Captain Cold
The Flashfollows its titular DC Comics protagonist (Grant Gustin) who uses his skills to fight criminals and other superhuman beings.Wentworth Miller has a recurring rolealongside hisPrison Breakco-star Dominic Purcell. Together, the two portray Captain Cold and Heat Wave and start as antagonists seeking to kill The Flash.
10 Best Shows Like Prison Break
Prison Break follows a man planning a prison escape for his brother, and while its premise is unique, some other TV shows share similar qualities.
ThroughoutLegends of Tomorrow, the spin-off series toThe Flash, the characters assume a hero status. Miller isn’t inThe Flashfor long, but he is one of the more memorable characters in the Arrowverse.The Flashearned greater amounts of critical acclaim as the series progressed over its nine seasons.
The Flash
The Flash follows CSI investigator Barry Allen, who wakes from a coma with super speed after a lightning strike. Collaborating with S.T.A.R. Labs, he adopts the identity of The Flash to safeguard his city, marking his journey as the Fastest Man Alive in this superhero tale.
Highlights from the series include the embracing of its comic book roots, impressive special effects, and a lighthearted approach to the superhero genre. Though there were still dark anddisturbing moments throughoutThe Flash,the series was generally more uplifting, differing itself from other superhero showswhich often tend to be moody and serious.
1Legends Of Tomorrow (2016-2022)
Starring Dominic Purcell As Mick Rory
Both ofPrison Break’s leads,Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, star inDC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but the former has a longer stay as the character Mick Rory. Based on the DC Comics character Heat Wave, Mick has a short temper but is efficient in his work and is of great help.Legends of Tomorrowis part of the Arrowverse and features characters fromArrowandThe Flash.
Both ofPrison Break’s leads, Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, star inDC’s Legends of Tomorrow, but the former has a longer stay as the character Mick Rory.
Legends of Tomorrowpremiered with a promising first season that had fun character dynamics between its misfit heroes but didn’t differ much from previous superhero dramas. It eventually became clear that the series worked best when it set out to have fun, employing the use of meta-humor and featuring some lesser-known characters.
Legends of Tomorrow
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is one of many CW superhero shows that takes place within the Arrowverse. The series follows a rag-tag group of heroes and villains traveling through space and time to prevent apocalyptic events that would destroy the Earth and time itself.Legends of Tomorrowran between 2016 and 2022 for seven seasons. New heroes and villains filtered in and out of the series, butArrowstar Caity Lotz starred in all 110 episodes as Sara Lance, aka White Canary.
High stakes continued to be present throughoutLegends of Tomorrow, but it wasn’t presented in a self-serious manner. Making such a crucial shift in tone allowedLegends of Tomorrowto gain a more positive response from audiences and critics. Unfortunately, despite its popularity and exciting future,Legends of Tomorrowwas canceledafter seven seasons due to financial reasons.
Prison Break
Prison Break tells the story of two brothers who must unravel a political conspiracy while escaping from one of the most secure places on Earth. When petty criminal Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is falsely convicted of murdering the Vice President’s brother, his own brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), has himself incarcerated to stage a daring prison break using the blueprints of the facility he has tattooed on his body.
