Time runs out as Lincoln’s execution is scheduled for the night.

The escape is set into motion as the team prepares to leave their cells. The inmates successfully breach the prison walls. Flight

Originally airing on Fox from August 29, 2005, to May 15, 2006, the first season covers Michael Scofield’s elaborate plan to break his brother, Lincoln Burrows, out of Fox River State Penitentiary.

The allocation of 22 episodes allowed the series to utilize a "hierarchy of hurdles" structure. Had the season been a shorter, cable-style order of 10 or 13 episodes, the escape likely would have occurred by mid-season. By demanding a full 22 episodes, Fox forced the writers to expand the world of Fox River Penitentiary.