Fox’s crime drama Prison Break ran for five original seasons in the mid to late 2000s and starred several actors with successful TV careers. Seeing the success of serialized shows like Lost and 24, the network had faith in the success of Prison Break. The series is set in prison and 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 in Prison Break season 1 earned widespread acclaim. Though later seasons of Prison Break would 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 show despite having previously acted in well-received shows or doing so following their time on Prison Break. Actors like Rockmond Dunbar and Robin Tunney star in more crime-related series, while other actors appear in medical dramas and superhero shows.
8 Terriers (2010)
Starring Rockmond Dunbar
A few years after he made his first appearance in Prison Break seasons 1 and 2, Rockmond Dunbar had a main role in FX’s Terriers. As another addition to the popular crime-drama genre on TV, Terriers managed 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.
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 throughout Terriers earned 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 after Terriers‘ season finale, it was announced the show would be canceled after one season.
7 Private Practice (2007-2013)
Starring Paul Adelstein
A spin-off series of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice starred Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery and the series began as she made the move from Seattle Grace Hospital to Los Angeles, California to begin working at a private practice. In Private Practice, Paul Adelstein plays a co-worker of Addison’s, Cooper Freedman. Compared to his Prison Break character, Cooper has a much softer personality and 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 Practice was an exception. Compared to Grey’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.
6 iZombie (2015-2019)
Starring Robert Knepper
Robert Knepper has appeared in many notable TV shows throughout his career, including ER, The West Wing, and Heroes. Knepper also had a recurring role in The CW’s iZombie. 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 in iZombie season 2 before becoming a main character in season 4. Knepper plays Angus McDonough, the abusive father to the brain-dealing zombie, Blaine McDonough.
Throughout its five-season run, iZombie received 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 like The Walking Dead, iZombie leans 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 to Veronica Mars, another popular show by series creator Rob Thomas.
5 The Mentalist (2008-2015)
Starring Robin Tunney
In both Prison Break and The Mentalist, Robin Tunney’s characters are involved with the law as a lawyer and senior agent with the California Bureau of Investigation, respectively. The Mentalist follows 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 beginning of The Mentalist follows a variety of cases but becomes increasingly more focused on a killer connected to Patrick as the series progresses.
The Mentalist has a lot of similarities with other procedurals, especially USA Network’s Psych. 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 Mentalist still earned positive remarks from critics because of Baker’s leading performance. For his work in The Mentalist, Baker earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominations.
4 Invasion (2005-2006)
Starring William Fichtner
Before joining Prison Break season 2, William Fichtner played Sheriff Tom Underlay in Invasion. Airing on ABC, Invasion pulled inspiration from Invasion of the Body Snatchers for 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. Invasion was canceled after one season and left a few burning questions forever unanswered.
Still, Invasion received high levels of praise for its writing, direction, and performances, especially Fichtner, whose character has a dark secret throughout the series. Admittedly, Invasion has 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 of Invasion to balance this out. The large sense of distrust among Invasion‘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.
3 The Walking Dead (2010-2022)
Starring Sarah Wayne Callies
Based on a comic book series of the same name, The Walking Dead ran 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 by Prison Break‘s Sarah Wayne Callies. In The 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 of the best Walking Dead characters, as audiences generally find her to be selfish, unlikable, and poorly written. 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.
2 The Flash (2014-2023)
Starring Wentworth Miller
The Flash follows its titular DC Comics protagonist (Grant Gustin) who uses his skills to fight criminals and other superhuman beings. Wentworth Miller has a recurring role alongside his Prison Break co-star Dominic Purcell. Together, the two portray Captain Cold and Heat Wave and start as antagonists seeking to kill The Flash. Throughout Legends of Tomorrow, the spin-off series to The Flash, the characters assume a hero status. Miller isn’t in The Flash for long, but he is one of the more memorable characters in the Arrowverse.
The Flash earned greater amounts of critical acclaim as the series progressed over its nine seasons. 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 and disturbing moments throughout The Flash, the series was generally more uplifting, differing itself from other superhero shows which often tend to be moody and serious.
1 Legends Of Tomorrow (2016-2022)
Starring Dominic Purcell
Both of Prison Break‘s leads, Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller, star in DC’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 Tomorrow is part of the Arrowverse and features characters from Arrow and The Flash. Legends of Tomorrow premiered 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. High stakes continued to be present throughout Legends of Tomorrow, but it wasn’t presented in a self-serious manner. Making such a crucial shift in tone allowed Legends of Tomorrow to gain a more positive response from audiences and critics. Unfortunately, despite its popularity and exciting future, Legends of Tomorrow was canceled after seven seasons due to financial reasons.
