Alcatraz

A unique team, consisting of a federal agent, a police officer and a conspiracy theory novelist, investigate the shocking reappearance of Alcatraz's most notorious prisoners, fifty years after they supposedly vanished.

Alcatraz (2012) is a American network science fiction mystery series created by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt for FOX, produced with Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) joins federal agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) and Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia), a conspiracy theory novelist, to track down notorious inmates who reappear in modern San Francisco after vanishing from the infamous island prison decades earlier. Their engine is a race to understand why each returned prisoner appeared and who is orchestrating the disappearances, with each case unfolding as a self-contained investigation layered over a wider hidden mystery. The single thirteen-episode season balances procedural case-of-the-week storytelling with a growing conspiracy thread tied to the prison's past. The tone is tense and moody, with a noir-inflected sense of unease and a dose of dark, eerie intrigue. Set in a present-day Bay Area colored by the shadow of 1960s Alcatraz, the series will appeal to viewers who enjoy the time-displaced mysteries of Fringe and the government-conspiracy atmosphere of The X-Files.

Audience reception is mixed, with a single season rated 7.6/10 by viewers who found the high-concept premise of 1963 escapees returning to 2012 appealing despite uneven execution.

• Fringeserialized mystery with a case-of-the-week structure and a time-displaced conspiracy
• The X-Filesfederal agents chasing supernatural anomalies with a mythology built across episodes
• Timelesstime-travel procedural with a team hunting anomalies across eras

Created by

Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien, Bryan Wynbrandt

Release Date

2012-01-16

Episode runtime

43 min

Rating

6.9 / 10 (319)

What is Alcatraz about?

A federal agent, a police detective and a conspiracy novelist hunt down Alcatraz prisoners who reappear fifty years after vanishing.

What is Alcatraz like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Alcatraz as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is Alcatraz violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Alcatraz as mild.

What did critics think of Alcatraz?

Audience reception is mixed, with a single season rated 7.6/10 by viewers who found the high-concept premise of 1963 escapees returning to 2012 appealing despite uneven execution.

Which shows are like Alcatraz?

Shows with a similar feel include Fringe, The X-Files, and Timeless.

How long is Alcatraz?

Alcatraz: 1 season, 13 episodes.

Is Alcatraz still running?

No, Alcatraz was canceled.

Where can I watch Alcatraz?

In United States, Alcatraz streams on Hoopla, Plex, Plex Player, Plex Channel, Tubi TV.