Every season of The Big House ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of The Big House!

San Quentin

Paul Sorvino narrates this look inside Folsom Prison, a California penitentiary that opened in 1880 and housed infamous criminals such as Charles Manson and Jake Oppenheimer. Also: the multiple hangings that occurred between 1895 and 1937.

Folsom

Leavenworth

The history of Attica Prison, from its construction in rural New York in the 1920s to the bloodiest prison riot in U.S. history in September 1971. Paul Sorvino narrates.

Attica

McNeil Island

A history of the Louisiana State Prison at Angola. Included: overcrowding; the annual prison rodeo. Paul Sorvino narrates.

Angola

Rahway

Jefferson City

A look at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania. Well-known onetime inmates include Jimmy Hoffa.

Lewisburg

Raiford

Breakout from Alcatraz

Escape from Colditz

A look at the history of Maze Prison, near Belfast, Ireland. Included: the “blanket protest” in 1976, when IRA prisoners refused to wear prison clothes; and the hunger strikes of 1981.

Maze Prison

Chain Gang Breakout

Auburn

Central Prison

Parchman

Montana State

Joliet

Eddyville

Maine State

McAlester

Colorado State

L. A. County Jail

A study of maximum-security prisons in the U.S. and Europe includes profiles of notable prisoners and wardens.

The Best Seasons of The Big House

The Best Seasons of The Big House

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4