Prison Break is an American television series that premiered on the Fox Network on August 29, 2005.

The story revolves around a man who was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and his brother's elaborate plan to help him escape his death sentence. Created by Paul Scheuring, the show is produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television. The show is currently undergoing its second season, which premiered on August 21, 2006.

Having planned two seasons worth of story beforehand, executive producer Paul Scheuring says, "With success comes questions about Season Three, so now we’re framing the first two seasons as chapter one of the 'trilogy’."The serialized story structure of Prison Break is attributed to the format of storytelling adapted by the writers as each episode covers a part of the escape plan, a similar format used by Lost and 24. The first season of Prison Break was primarily filmed at Joliet Prison which also contributed to the uniqueness of the show.[5] Its success and recognition as a prison drama also revived interest in the genre. The show's official magazine, published by Titan Publishing, was launched on 21 November 2006.

Series 1

Premiered on August 29, 2005 in the United States and Canada, the first season featured a total of 22 episodes. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is accused of the murder of Terrence Steadman, who is the brother of the female Vice President of the United States. With strong evidence supporting the charges of first degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm against him, Lincoln is sentenced to death and is sent to the Fox River State Penitentiary to await his execution.

Lincoln's brother, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), is convinced of Lincoln's innocence and hatches an escape plan. After installing himself at Fox River, time works against Michael as he must overcome various obstacles and make the right connections among the inmates and prison staff to be successful in breaking out his brother. The actors who were cast as the protagonists Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows were the last to join the main cast. Miller was chosen six days before the start of production and Purcell was cast three days later. The protagonists are aided by Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney), who begins to investigate the conspiracy that put Lincoln in jail. However, they are hindered by covert agents, who belong to an organization known as "The Company".

Series 2

The second season of Prison Break began airing in the United States and Canada on August 21, 2006. The story continues eight hours after the prison escape from Fox River State Penitentiary, focusing mainly on the escapees. New characters are introduced, including a federal agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner), who is assigned to track down and capture the eight escapees. Series creator Paul Scheuring describes the second season as "The Fugitive times eight" and likens it to the "second half of The Great Escape". The fugitives journey to locations across America with the authorities close behind them as they each pursue their individual goals. Meanwhile, the conspiracy plot develops as "The Company" continues their plan to locate and eliminate Lincoln Burrows and others who get in their way. Much of the storyline concerning the conspiracy concludes by the season finale.

The Tattoo

Designed by Tom Berg and created by Tinsley Transfers, the tattoo, which covers the entire upper body of Michael Scofield, is featured extensively in the first season of the show. The part of the tattoo that is situated on the front of Michael Scofield, contains the blueprints of the underground passageways of the prison, while on the back, a bird's-eye view of the prison is incorporated into the tattoo. Although Berg was aware that visual effects will be used to highlight the prison blueprints in the tattoo, the contours and lines of the tattoo were drawn to resemble the map as much as possible.

As the episodes come about, Berg is contacted to create various specific designs for the particular episode. The full tattoo is made up of several separate transfers which are then pieced together on the actor's upper body. Once the area of the skin (where the tattoo will be applied) is cleaned with rubbing alcohol, a series of decals are placed on the skin and the paper is then peeled off. After this, the pieces are stuck to the skin via glue and water-proof sealant, before finishing with paint in the filler parts.

Overall, the process takes four to five hours and does not include the time to remove the temporary tattoo, which takes about 45 minutes. When the entire tattoo does not need to be shown, for example, in scenes where the actor is wearing a T-shirt, only the forearm pieces of the tattoo are applied. If the tattoos were to be permanently applied, it would be time-consuming and would have taken much longer than the time taken by the protagonist in the series.