Premise:
The famous prison that housed some of some of America's most violent and notorious criminals comes to life in this drama from Lost creator J.J. Abrams. When Det. Rebecca Madsen works a murder investigation, she soon discovers the fingerprints belonging to her prime suspect are those of a former Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. Her investigation is then suspiciously impeded by government agent Emerson Hauser, so Rebecca then teams up with Dr. Diego Soto, a renowned expert on Alcatraz. The two soon discover the former prisoner hasn't aged a day in 50 years and are horrified to learn that more prisoners may soon reappear, leading them to dig deeper into the secret history of this mysterious prison.
Series Premiere:
January 16, 2012
When is it on?:
Mondays at 9pm ET on Fox. The latest episodes can also be viewed the day after the original air date at Fox.com.
'Alcatraz' Cast:
- Sarah Jones as Det. Rebecca Madsen
- Jorge Garcia as Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto
- Sam Neill as Emerson Hauser
- Parminder Nagra as Lucy Banerjee
- Robert Forster as Ray Archer
- Santiago Cabrera as Jimmy Dickens
- Jonny Coyne as Warden Edwin James
- Jason Butler Harner as Associate Warden E.B. Tiller
FAQ About the Real Alcatraz:
- Construction on Alcatraz began in 1853 and its lighthouse became the first on the Pacific Coast.
- In 1859, the first batch of prisoners arrived and was housed in the Sally Port basement. The first inmates were soldiers accused of desertion, rape, murder and treason. It became a federal penitentiary in 1934 for prisoners who were deemed "incorrigible." The average stay at Alcatraz was eight to ten years.
- There were 14 escape attempts, 8 murders and 5 suicides. There were no prisoners executed at Alcatraz.
- Alcatraz held famous prisoners such as Al Capone, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, Robert Stroud (a.k.a. the "Birdman of Alcatraz," "Doc" Barker and Floyd Hamilton.
- There were never any female prisoners or correctional officers.
- The maximum amount of prisoners was 302, but on average there were 260 inmates. The prison had 336 cells available.
- The prison was permanently closed in 1963 by Robert F. Kennedy.
- Following the closure of the penitentiary, a group of Indians called "Indians of All Tribes" arrived in 1969 and occupied the island of Alcatraz for 19 months. They were removed in 1971 by federal agents.
- Alcatraz was designated as a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972, and the first visitors were brought to the island in 1973.
- More About the real Alcatraz.
About J.J. Abrams:
Series creator J.J. Abrams is no stranger to the television world. He is responsible for bringing us series such as Person of Interest, Fringe, Undercovers, Lost, Alias, Felicity. Some of the high profile movies Abrams has produced are: Super 8, Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Star Trek.
Trivia:
- Jorge Garcia starred as Hurley on the hit ABC series Lost.
- Parminder Nagra, who stars as Lucy Banerjee on Alcatraz played Dr. Neela Rasgotra on ER from 2003 to 2009 (129 episodes).
- Series star Sam Neill starred in Jurassic Park I, III and the upcoming fourth installment (yet to be filmed). Other notable roles include The Tudors as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, The Piano as Alisdair Stewart, and the TV mini-series Merlin (as Merlin), in which he was nominated for an Emmy. Before getting his role on Alcatraz, Neill starred in the short-lived television series Crusoe (as Jeremiah Blackthorn) and Happy Town (as Merritt Grieves).
- The show is filmed in San Francisco, Vancouver, Canada and even filmed some scenes on the island of Alcatraz.
