Breakout Kings is an American drama television series that aired on the A&E network. It is a production of Fox 21. The series was created, written, and executive-produced by Nick Santora and Matt Olmstead, who previously worked together on Prison Break. Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, and Gavin Hood also served as executive producers.
Though the guest appearance of Prison Break character Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell confirms a shared continuity between the two series, it is not a direct spin-off. Frank Grillo, who recurred in Prison Break's first season as Nick Savrinn, appears in the episode "Queen of Hearts" as a different character named Agent Stoltz.
The series premiered on March 6, 2011, and was the most-watched original drama series in A&E's history among adults 25–54 and adults 18–49, delivering 1.6 million adults 25–54 and 1.5 million adults 18–49.
The series follows a task force assembled by the U.S. Marshals to capture prison escapees. Several current convicts are offered a chance to aid in this effort, with the promise of a transfer to a minimum-security prison and a reduction in their sentences for every fugitive they catch. However, if any of them tries to escape, they will all be returned to their original prisons and their sentences will be doubled.
The series was picked up for a second season which premiered on March 4, 2012. The second-season finale aired on April 29, 2012, at 9 p.m. ET/PT and featured two back-to-back episodes, "Freakshow" and "Served Cold", instead of the usual one-hour installment at 10 p.m.
A&E cancelled Breakout Kings on May 17, 2012, after two seasons.
