The Prisoner

After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.

The Prisoner (1967-1968) is a British cult television series created by Patrick McGoohan and George Markstein for ITV1. After resigning from his secret service post, a spy known only as Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) wakes in a seemingly idyllic seaside village that is in truth a sealed, Kafkaesque prison. Each episode builds around his stubborn refusal to surrender information to a rotating cast of warders, most memorably the shifting Number Two figures (Colin Gordon, Leo McKern, Eric Portman) and the unseen authority behind them, while he schemes repeatedly to break free. The engine of the series is a battle of wills: a man who insists he is not a number against a system that wants to reduce him to one. Its single season of seventeen episodes is a self-contained run in which the Village's rules stay deliberately opaque. Set in a cold war era Britain-tinged fantasy of control, the series is built on dread, surreal imagery, and sly, cerebral humour, with a dreamlike unease that rewards close attention. Fans of The Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks and Brazil will find resonance in its allegorical paranoia and its suspicion of institutional power.

Widely acclaimed as a cult classic for its surreal allegorical paranoia, with audiences praising its ambition and McGoohan's performance.

• Twin Peaksparanoid surveillance state, enigmatic authority, serialized mystery with allegorical edge
• BrazilKafkaesque captivity, oppressive bureaucracy, individual defiance against a system
• The Twilight Zonesingle protagonist trapped in a controlled community, surreal dread, allegorical sci-fi
• Nineteen Eighty-FourOrwellian institutional control, identity stripped to a number, dystopian atmosphere

Created by

Patrick McGoohan, George Markstein

Release Date

1967-09-29

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

8.4 / 10 (223)

What is The Prisoner about?

A secret agent who resigns is abducted to an idyllic yet sinister village and fights to escape its pitiless captors.

What is The Prisoner like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Prisoner as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.

Is The Prisoner violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Prisoner as mild.

What did critics think of The Prisoner?

Widely acclaimed as a cult classic for its surreal allegorical paranoia, with audiences praising its ambition and McGoohan's performance.

Which shows are like The Prisoner?

Shows with a similar feel include Twin Peaks, Brazil, The Twilight Zone, and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

How long is The Prisoner?

The Prisoner: 1 season, 17 episodes.

Is The Prisoner still running?

No, The Prisoner has ended.

Where can I watch The Prisoner?

In United States, The Prisoner streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Criterion Channel, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.