8 shows to watch if you liked Netflix’s Prison Cell 211
Prison Cell 211 revolves around the chaos and exploring the darkness of the inmates in prison. A human rights lawyer Juan finds himself in a prison riot that could ruin his life. Prison Cell 211 then dives deep slowly into the layers of darkness of the protagonist and the inmates. However, he now has to find a way out of the prison and navigate through the chaos.
Prison Cell 211 also tells us how people generally living at the lower level of the food chain have to bear the consequences of the actions done by the rich. The dynamics of power play, prison chaos, and how people act differently in a confined cell are portrayed in the show.
Shows like Prison Break, Mindhunter, and many more shows navigate through similar themes. Viewers who like watching prison dramas can go through the list below.
Mindhunter, The Wire, and six more shows if you liked watching Prison Cell 211
1) Prison Break
Prison Break revolves around Lincoln Burrows being framed for the homicide of the Vice President’s brother. His younger brother, Micheal Scofield, makes a plan to save him from suffering at the prison with a genius escape plan. Lincoln is sentenced to execution, and Micheal now has to speed up his escape plan and get out of the highest security penitentiary as soon as possible.
Actors like Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, and Robert Knepper. The show ran for five seasons and was created by Paul T. Scheuring. Much like Prison Cell 211, the darkness within the inmates and how an innocent man survives the prison is also shown in Prison Break.
Where to watch: Disney+Hotstar, Netflix
2) Orange is the New Black
Orange is the New Black dives into Piper Kerman's experience as an inmate. She gets convicted for a decade-old drug trafficking case. As such, she realizes the privileges she has in her past life and the limitations a prisoner has to suffer.
The show ran for six years and is based on the novel by Piper Kerman of the same name. Actors like Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, and Emma Myles play important roles in the show. Very similar to Prison Cell 211, we get to see how people react and behave in a certain different way when they are in prison.
Where to watch: Netflix
3) Wentworth
Wentworth revolves around the lives of inmates and staff of Wentworth Correctional Centre and how they survive prison life. The chaos and how the staff manages the ups and downs of the prison environment is an important theme of the show. Furthermore, we even get to see how inmates are behaving while serving their sentences which is very much alike to the elements of Prison Cell 211.
The show is created by Reg Watson and is based on the series Prisoner. Kate Atkinson, Robbie Magasiva, and Jacquie Brennan play major roles in the show. The show ran for 8 years from 2013 to 2021.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
4) Mindhunter
Unlike other shows similar to Prison Cell 211, which just explore bits and pieces of behavioral change in prison, Mindhunter takes it to a new level and puts it under an observation center. Mindhunter revolves around a psychological deep-dive into the mind of a serial killer in prison and how he kills people without any motive. Meanwhile, FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit agent Holden Ford finds himself sometimes decoding and sometimes struggling with knowing the killer.
Actors like Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv play pivotal roles in the show. The show is more like a docudrama and ran for two years. The show was created by David Fincher based on the book by John Douglas.
Where to watch: Netflix
5) Oz
Oz revolves around chronicling the day-to-day activities of a prison. In the prison, there is a constant battle for power and survival among the inmates and the officers. The show dives deep into the sense of the environment of a confined cell and how people act differently in it, much like Prison Cell 211.
The show is created by Tom Fontana and Bradford Winters. Actors like Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, and J.K Simmons play crucial roles in the show. The show even got nominated twice for Primetime Emmy in the year 1999.
Where to watch: Prime Video
6) Black Bird
Black Bird revolves around Jimmy Keene, who gets sentenced to 10 years in prison as a part of a wider sting operation. However, Jimmy gets an incredible offer; he is tasked with extracting information from one of the serial killers in the prison with the promise of being freed. Completing this challenge becomes his only mission in prison.
The show is created by Ricardo DiLoreto. Popular celebrities like Taron Egerton, Paul Hauser, and Greg Kinnear play crucial roles in the show. Much like Prison Cell 211, the study of the behavioral activity of inmates is portrayed in the six-episode-long miniseries.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
7) Locked Up
Locked Up, also known as Vis a Vis is a show that revolves around a naive young woman who falls in love with her boss. In the course of the clandestine relationship, she gets looped in several accounting manipulations and misappropriation crimes. Later on, she gets accused of four tax crimes and now she has to navigate her journey in a prison and get out of the prison.
Quite like Prison Cell 211, the character exploration is portrayed here for all the actors in various situations in prison. The show is created by Ivan Escobar. It also features popular actors like Alba Forbes, Marta Aledo, Najwa Nimri, and many more.
Where to watch: Netflix
8) Prison Playbook
Prison Playbook revolves around a Baseball pitcher, Kim Je-hyeok, who becomes a convict overnight after saving his sister from s*xual assault. After a few days, he was going to be a part of the Boston Red Sox but life took a strange turn and now he has to survive prison and live a struggling life. Moreover, he becomes a target of a few inmates in the prison who seek revenge on him for various motives.
Much like Prison Cell 211, the show explores the daily lives of prisoners and prison workers and the small and big moments that happen in prison. The show is directed by Shin Won-ho and written by Bo-Hoon Jung. Actors like Park Hae-soo, Jung Kyung-ho, and Krystal Jung play crucial roles in the show.
Where to watch: Netflix
