Many of the scenes are filmed on location in the actual cell that housed John Wayne Gacy.
The filming location, the old Joliet Prison, actually only has cells stacked two high. To be able to show the cells stacked three high, a studio set was constructed.
Stacy Keach (the Prison Warden) spent six months in a British prison and modeled his character after the man in charge at that institution.
The character of "D.B. Cooper" is based on an actual person, who in 1971, after hijacking an airliner, extorted $200,000 from its owner, Northwest Orient, and leaped off the airborne plane with 21 pounds of $20 bills strapped to his body. He was never caught.
The 4-month hiatus between the airing of episodes 13 and 14 came back to haunt the producers. Lincoln's execution was scheduled to take place in May. All of a sudden it was snowing.
Robert Knepper (T-Bag) says he based the haircut of his character on an old Science teacher he had, who had a "poofy bit", which always stuck up at the front.
The name of the prison in the show, Fox River, shares the name of a river that runs through Western Chicagoland, near the real prison filming location.
Thirteen episodes had originally been ordered but due to the success of the show, Fox extended it to a full season.
According to an interview with Rockmond Dunbar the character of C-Note was only suppose to appear in the first 2 episodes but when the show was renewed for a full season C-Note's role was extended to a recurring character.
The idea for the show was originally pitched to the Fox Broadcasting Company in 2003 but was turned down as Fox felt somewhat nervous about the long-term possibilities of such a television series. It was later considered as a possible 10-part mini series, which allegedly drew interest from big names in the film industry such as Steven Spielberg and Bruce Willis. However, the mini series never materialized. Following the huge popularity of serialized prime-time television series such as "24" (2001) and "Lost" (2004), the Fox Network had a change of heart and backed the production in 2004.
The electric chair is not used as a primary instrument of execution in the State of Illinois where the series is set. Originally, the method of execution scripted for Lincoln's death was via lethal injection. For shock value, however, this was changed to the electric chair. The State of Illinois currently has a moratorium on the death penalty.
13 prisons banned the show.
Paul Scheuring had said that the initial concept for the series (a man deliberately getting himself sent to prison in order to break out again) was suggested to him by a female colleague of his. He thought it was a great idea, but was initially stumped as to why someone would embark on such a strange mission or how he could stretch the idea out long enough for a TV show. He later came up with the idea of the wrongfully accused brother, and the conspiracy subplot. He then started work on writing the pilot script for the show.
Wentworth Miller was a last minute casting choice. He started filming about a week after auditioning/being cast.
'Silas Weir Mitchell' (Haywire) originally auditioned for the role of T-Bag.
SPOILER:In the season 1 finale, the character of Dr. Sara Tancredi was originally intended to have been killed off from the drug overdose. However due to the network's request, the popularity of the character and Robin Tunney wanting to move on to other endeavors, Sara remained alive for season 2 while the show's other female lead Veronica Donovan was killed off in her place.
SPOILER: David "Tweener" Apolskis' death was a result of actor Lane Garrison leaving the series to finish, _Shooter (2007)_
If you were to have a tattoo like Michael’s it would take around 200 hours to make and the cost of it would be around $15000-$20000 dollars.
It takes 4.5 hours to apply the tattoo to Wentwort.
