History Main / PrisonEpisode

->''"This is a picture of me and my father. We used to go to the park everyday. But now my father can't, Because he is in prison. Today my mother is taking me and my little brother to prison to see our father. My mother told us that we can talk to our father, But we can't touch him or hug him."''

* The Franchise/{{Batman}} comic books have featured at least a couple of stories involving Batman being a prisoner in Arkham Asylum: "This Way Lies Madness"/"Asylum Sinister" in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' #327-328 and "The Last Arkham" in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Shadow of the Bat'' #1-4 to name two.
* Both ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' and ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'' have had arcs or issues set in prisons. One time actually had Daredevil put into prison and the Punisher had himself committed to watch Daredevil lose his mind.

Compare BizarroEpisode, SickEpisode, VerySpecialEpisode.

->'''''The daughter:''' This is a picture of me and my father. We used to go to the park everyday. But now my father can't, because he is in prison. Today my mother is taking me and my little brother to prison to see our father. My mother told us that we can talk to our father, but we can't touch him or hug him.''
-->-- ''[[Series/SesameStreet The animated insert from Sesame Street: Little Children, Big Challenge - Incarceration]]''

* In the ''Anime/OutlawStar'' episode "Gravity Jailbreak", Gene Starwind is forced to infiltrate a PenalColony planet to find a contact who will give him the coordinates of the Galactic Leyline. To further complicate things, the prison planet is a DeadlyEnvironmentPrison - it's a heavy-gravity planet and sooner or later the gravity's train makes the prisoners' hearts give out.

** ''PrisonEpisode/TheSimpsons''

** ''PrisonEpisode/FamilyGuy''

** PrisonEpisode/FamilyGuy
** PrisonEpisode/TheSimpsons

!!Examples:

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Much of the beginning of Season 2 of ''Series/TwentyFour'' has Jack in prison to break out a drug kingpin as part of a larger plan.
* In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', the first season has George, Sr. in prison. However, as part of an "[[InsistentTerminology illusion]]", his son GOB goes to prison for an episode to prove he can escape in 24 hours time. [[spoiler:He escapes when an inmate shivs him and he's taken to a hospital.]]
** Later, Tobias spends some time in prison to research the role of Frightened Inmate #2.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Much of "Broken Arrow" is set inside Iron Heights and focuses on Roy's attempts to survive in prison after he confesses to being the Arrow.
* The episode of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' where Sheldon [[TheTroubleWithTickets receives a red light camera ticket]] in Penny's car [[ContinuityNod in a previous episode]] and fights it [[CourtroomEpisode in court]]. During the proceedings, he commits contempt of court - or rather utter contempt of the judge - and is sent to jail until he apologizes. Although Sheldon Cooper out-weirds hardened criminals to the point where "you're in my spot" makes a tough con give up his seat to the psycho, the thing that makes him crack and make a grovelling apology is when he realizes the awful truth about the bathroom facilities...
* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'':
** The 1971 episode "Kingdom of Fear" is set at a prison camp and is based on ''Film/CoolHandLuke''.
** The 1972 episode "Riot!" meant to address sub-human living conditions prevalent in the era -- and to a point, even in the early 1970s, when this episode was aired ... and to a point, even today. The episode introduces Tim Matheson to viewers as the long-running series' last major new character: Griff King, who is paroled to the Cartwright's custody; Denver Pyle, who became known later as Jesse Duke on ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'', plays the uncaring, cold-hearted prison warden.
* ''Series/TheBrokenwoodMysteries'': A prisoner's murder sees a couple of culprits from previous episodes make a return as having lived in the same wing as the victim. Complicating matters is that Brokenwood Women's is a PrivateProfitPrison that cuts corners to save a buck, meaning that its [[UselessSecurityCamera security cameras are just for show]] and the cell doors are easily unlocked ''by the prisoners themselves''.
* ''Series/BurnNotice'':
** Fiona spends a chunk of season six trying to survive in prison, while Michael works to get her out.
** Michael also voluntarily goes to prison for an episode to help protect an old buddy of Sam's.
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
** "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS3E21MaximumSecurity Maximum Security]]": Detective Amy Santiago spends the episode infiltrating a prison in Texas, trying to get vital information from a prisoner. Her boyfriend Jake Peralta is her handler and he's really scared she's gonna get hurt.
** "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS4E02CoralPalmsPartTwo Coral Palms, Part 2]]": Captain Holt and Detective Peralta spend a part of the episode in a small town jail in Florida. The local sheriff doesn't buy their explanation that they're in WitnessProtection.
** "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS5E01TheBigHousePartOne The Big House, Part 1]]" & "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS5E02TheBigHousePartTwo The Big House, Part 2]]": Season 4 ended with a WhamLine: two detectives from the 99th precinct, framed for a series of bank robberies, are sentenced to 15 years. The opener of season 5 sees them imprisoned and having a hard time.
* The ''[[Series/{{Charmed1998}} Charmed]]'' season 8 episode ''Run, Piper, Run'' has Piper thrown into jail in someone else's stead. Sort of, she [[spoiler:had accidentally magically glamoured into fugitive murder suspect, Maya Holmes, hence the mistake]]. Except [[spoiler:Maya was actually innocent and framed all along, so the Charmed Ones set out to clear her name and save her from the real murderer before Piper changes her glamour]].
** In previous episodes throughout the series, Prue (twice), Paige, Phoebe and Piper (together), and Chris were at some point locked up in muggle jails due to magical shenanigans. A recurring plot was them having to break out to fight the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Demon of the week]], only to then swiftly return behind bars just in time to have their names cleared once the magical crisis was over.
* In ''Series/CovertAffairs'' Annie is taken to a high security prison in Russia.
* In the ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' episode "Redemptio", Hawkes goes to a prison to witness the execution of a death row inmate who murdered his sister. Just as it is about to take place, a guard is killed. This is revealed to be a plot by Shane Casey, who is using the murder as a distraction to escape using Danny's stolen badge. In the process, the prison cells are unlocked, resulting in a PrisonRiot.
* ''Series/{{Decoy}}'' has "Deadly Corridor," in which Casey goes undercover in the minimum security wing of a women's prison to solve the murder of an inmate who was stabbed fourteen times with a [[ImprovisedWeapon sharpened spoon]].
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** A significant portion of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E2TheMindOfEvil The Mind of Evil]]" takes place in Stangmoor prison, loosely based on the real life HMP Manchester/Strangeways.
** The Doctor spends several episodes of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]" incarcerated in a lunar PrisonColony.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent "Heaven Sent"]] doubles as this and a TortureChamberEpisode, as the Doctor is trapped in a mysterious clockwork castle by unidentified enemies. It turns out [[spoiler:that he's inside his own confession dial]].
* ''Series/DueSouth'': Ray gets sent to prison for being in contempt of court. In order to watch Ray's back as well as protect an important witness in Ray's case, Fraser intentionally commits a crime and gets sent to prison himself; but he's so straitlaced that the cop who's arresting him as a favor has to be the one who puts the single candy bar in his pocket.
* ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'': Although it was always Boss Hogg's goal to send Bo and Luke Duke to prison, and most episodes did involve the Duke boys tricking Rosco into letting them escape from jail, only one episode -- the terrifying "Cool Hands, Luke and Bo", a brilliant adaptation of ''Film/CoolHandLuke'' -- was actually set at a prison, and a prison camp at that.
* The ''Series/{{Ellen}}'' episode "Three Strikes" revolves around her being arrested for participating in an animal rights protest and ultimately remanded to the custody of her parents.
* And on ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', there is the episode where Debra Barone is arrested and incarcerated for drunk driving. Seeing her in the lock-up makes her brother-in-law, Lieutenant Robert Barone, do a very big double-take.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'''s Rashomon episode "The Ugly Truth" features most of the crew on a disc like prison-thing.
* In ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' episode "Mistaken Identity" both Will and Carton are arrested due to racial profiling. In "There's the Rub" Will and Phil are mistakenly jailed for solicitation.
* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Wayward Girls", Bunty reunites with Father Brown to uncover a dark secret at the local girls' borstal.
* ''Series/TheGoodies'': "Goodies in the Nick" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The Goodies spend several years in prison after committing a series of crimes for a police sergeant to solve so he can gain a promotion.
* ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'': Season 1's finale ends with [[spoiler:Will Graham]] incarcerated, [[spoiler:[[FrameUp framed]] by Hannibal Lecter as the Copycat Killer]]. The first half of season 2 follows up with him trying to expose Hannibal and prove his own innocence.
* ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has an episode in which Chin is kidnapped and wakes up in prison, where the DirtyCop that Chin got incarcerated wants to have some fun with him before killing him. Unable to trust the guards, Chin resorts to starting a fire in the hope that he can communicate with the rescue workers. The fire triggers a prison riot that Chin must survive long enough for Five-0 to rescue him.
* ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'' meanwhile had ''three'':
** "The Box," from the first season, where [=McGarrett=] visits Oahu State Prison, only to be held hostage during a prison riot by Big Chicken, whom he put in prison earlier in the season, in the episode "...And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin"
** "The Double Wall," from the third season, where a prisoner, who claims he's innocent of the murder charge that sent him to prison, holds a prison doctor hostage to force [=McGarrett=] into re-opening his case.
** "The Case Against [=McGarrett=]" from season eight, finds [=McGarrett=] held hostage in prison, this time put on trial by Honore Vashon (Harold Gould) for the murder of Vashon's son Chris Making this a SequelEpisode as well (to season five's "V For Vashon" trilogy - Chris Vashon is killed at the end of Part 1, "V For Vashon: The Son").
* ''Series/HenryDanger'' had the episode "Christmas Danger" which is surprisingly, a ChristmasEpisode only in name, but a prison episode in plot.
* In ''Series/{{House}}'', the title character [[spoiler:is sent to prison after his actions during the season 7 finale. The first episode of season 8 sees him on the verge of being granted parole. The following episodes go on to inconsistently reference his status as a conditionally released prisoner (he is forced to wear an ankle-mounted GPS, which viewers are sometimes reminded of).]]
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'' had "The Prisoner" in its first season in which Harm was held by the Chinese.
* ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'': In "Danny Boy", [=McCabe=]'s bottled-up feelings are unleashed when he's called to the state prison where his inmate son witnessed a murder.
* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the season 3 pilot features this after [[spoiler:Nate is voluntarily sent to prison to protect the rest of the team]]. Notable in that it avoids a dark feel due to the team staging an escape in typical ''Leverage'' fashion.
* ''Series/{{Longstreet}}'': In "The Shape of Nightmares", a young widow asks Mike to look into the apparent suicide of her husband, who died in prison. Mike enters the prison to investigate, and discovers evidence that he was actually murdered. A convict that Mike had sent to jail is now the "Head of the Yard," running the other inmates like a mob-boss from inside the prison walls, intent on getting revenge on Longstreet. Mike must use all his wits to solve the murder and stay alive.
* ''Series/MacGyver1985'':
** In "The Escape", mac infiltrates a prison in French North Africa in order to break out an unjustly imprisoned missionary.
** In "Jack in the Box", Jack Dalton is sent to a prison farm by a SmallTownTyrant who is using the prisoners as a workforce for his mine. Mac ends up in the same prison when he goes looking for Jack.
* ''Series/MacGyver2016'': In the episode ''Can Opener'', Mac has to infiltrate a maximum-security prison and break out a drug kingpin so he can find his cartel's secret location. All goes well until partway through the breakout, when Mac blows his cover preventing the kingpin from killing a guard.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Series/Daredevil2015'' has "Seven Minutes in Heaven" in season 2, which has great focus on Wilson Fisk's time in prison, and Fisk manipulating Frank Castle into disposing of Dutton, the current prison "kingpin". Season 3 gives us "Blindsided," where Matt goes to the prison to gather information on Fisk, only to walk into a trap Fisk has engineered just for him on the off-chance he came by.
** ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': In the second season, Jessica's mother Alisa is turned in for being the superpowered serial killer killing people from [=IGH=]'s sketchy past. Two episodes are spent that focus on her time in prison, until she breaks out with the intention of going after Trish after Trish indirectly gets Alisa's doctor/lover Karl Malus killed.
** ''Series/LukeCage2016'' has "Step into the Arena", told mostly in flashbacks, documenting Luke Cage's time as an inmate at Seagate Penitentiary up to the experimentation that gave him his durable skin.
* ''Series/MidnightCaller'' has "Life Without Possibility," in which Jack persuades rioting prisoners to release the security guards they've captured and take him as a hostage instead. Unfortunately, Jack is a former cop who arrested some of the rioters in the first place. One of the prisoners beats him up and almost gouges out his eye before another prisoner stops him.
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' had "Jessica Behind Bars". While it's set in a jail, Jessica is only there because of a writing program that involves a former student.
%%* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' has a several-episode-long imprisonment arc.
* The first half of the third season of ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' follows Earl as he serves time for [[TakingTheHeat confessing to a crime committed by his ex-wife, Joy.]]
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': [=McGee=] gets tangled up in a women's prison riot in "Caged." The plot revolves on him trying to resolve the conflict and the other characters trying to get him out alive. Notably, he is [[CharacterDevelopment significantly more badass afterwards]].
* On ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'', Sam Hanna spends an episode in prison...undercover as "Hakeem Fayed" as part of a plan to infiltrate a terrorist cell. It helps that his friend Nate Getz is also undercover as a prison psychologist, allowing the two of them to fine-tune their plan.
* ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfRobinHood'': In "The Prison", Sheriff Bickerton invites Robin and Marion to tour his high-security Penishaw prison. Robin declines, but Marion decides to go. But the prison has been taken over by the inmates, and Marion and Bickerton are captured by them. Robin learns what has happened and comes to help. He finds out that Maddox, the leader of the revolt, has vials of a deadly plague, which he threatens to use to contaminate London's water supply, unless some of his men are released by the regional high lord, the Duke of Vortigern. Robin realizes that the only way to prevent catastrophe is to break into the prison and destroy the plague vials. His best chance of getting into the escape-proof facility is with the help of Billy, the only person to ever escape from it. Billy is a beautiful but tough woman, now incarcerated in Vortigern's castle.
* ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily'' has "Go Directly to Jail," in which the family performs at a prison, where one of the inmates to trick them into spending the night so he can sell them some songs he wrote. [[spoiler:Turns out he plagiarized them from another prisoner. The real writer is willing to let them use his songs as long as he's credited under a fake name.]]
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' has a several-episode arc in which Reese is held in prison on suspicion of being The Man In The Suit.
* The episode “Solitary Confinement” of ''Series/PsiFactor'' is set in prison. In order to investigate the death of a man who died in solitary confinement, Peter Axon goes under cover as an inmate.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'''s eighth series was an extended prison episode.
* ''Series/ReservationDogs'': Though it's technically only a government-mandated group home, Cheese gets locked away when Uncle Charley is arrested for growing pot. His release is contingent on finding a new guardian.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' is the rare example where the Prison Episode is the GrandFinale.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'': The special ''Little Children, Big Challenge: Incarceration'' has a Muppet kid named Alex who has a father in jail. Older characters explain what incarceration is, saying when somebody violates the law (a grownup rule), they have to go to jail or prison.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
** "The Chute" has Tom and Harry sent to an orbiting prison after being falsely accused of terrorism.
** "Repentance" is an interesting case in that ''Voyager'' itself is turned into a prison for several death-row inmates.
* The ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "Canamar" is a variation; the episode is named for a notorious prison, yet Archer and Trip spend the whole time on a prison transport that never actually makes it there.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' has "Folsom Prison Blues" which features Dean and Sam deliberately getting themselves arrested so that they can solve a case inside a prison.
* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' had a one-hour special where the gang visits a country named Yerba, and eventually, one [[EyeScream missing eye]] and dead octopus later, everyone gets sent to prison. Andre and Beck have rocks thrown at them, Jade is nearly beat up by another prisoner, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Robbie is put on the girl's side]]. They manage to escape thanks to their teacher, though.
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' has several, with either the Rangers or Alex posing as inmates to expose corruption:
** "Break In," from Season 4, had Walker and Trivette posing as an inmate and guard, respectively, to gather evidence on an inmate who ordered the deaths of a witness (on whose testimony he was convicted) and two Rangers, but run into complications when the convict and prison administration are found to be in cahoots.
** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS5E25TexasVsCahill Texas vs. Cahill]]", near the end of Season 5, has Alex unjustly held on murdering an ex-boyfriend, who is defending a crime boss from her prosecution[[spoiler:, until Walker and Trivette manage to prove that crime boss [[FrameUp framed her]]]]. While held in jail, Alex has to deal with inmates whom she prosecuted, until she is saved by an inmate held on trumped-up charges.
** "Mr. Justice," from the sixth season, has Walker and the Rangers fighting the bureaucracy of a state senator who is opposed to opening a boot camp for young offenders, as a "second chance" and alternative to prison. Much of the action, aside from the senator's efforts to derail Walker's efforts, shows the offenders being helped to turn their lives around.
** "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS8E09FightOrDie Fight or Die]]" sees Walker, Gage and Trivette posing as hardened inmates (former two) and a guard (Trivette) to bring down an underground prize-fighting ring, where the warden and a corrupt promoter are forcing inmates to fight for their lives in mixed martial arts-type matches.
* In the ''Series/WithoutATrace'' episode "Penitence", the VictimOfTheWeek is a convict who may have escaped or met with foil play within the prison.
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' had "Locked Up and Tied Down" where she went to prison for killing a girl long ago except the girl became the prison's warden.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Case 2 of the second ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations''. Notably [[spoiler: the victim here was the ''killer'' in the first case, and the murderer from [[ContinuityPorn the very first case in the series]] appears as a witness.]]
* Connor finds himself in a depressing recreation of Bridewell Prison in ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIII'', after a violent altercation leads to a cross-city pursuit that gets him arrested and framed.
* On the route to the GoldenEnding of ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney,'' the protagonists tell the king that they'll defend him in court and the king, offended at the implication that he doesn't have a HundredPercentAdorationRating, throws them in jail. An allied prosecutor lets them out and says the charges are dropped.
* In ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' the party is knocked unconscious trying to pass through the enemy stronghold and are thrown in prison, except for Edea, who very easily takes the cell keys and breaks into the prison to break the rest of the party out. Amusingly, when she enters the prison, a party chat can be viewed where the rest of the party comes to the conclusion that Edea is suffering a far worse fate than them and are planning a wacky escape scheme, only for Edea to come in and point out how loud they were yelling their plans (they're held in separate cells and were unsure of how far they were from each other.). It's even funnier when the random encounters reveal there most definitely ARE a lot of guards patrolling the cells.
* ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' has one sequence in a prison cell. However, it follows a very humorous scene and precedes a challenging boss, so it's better than most. It is especially interesting because the prison lets you keep your sword.
** There are two prison sequences in ''Chrono Trigger''. The second one strips the party of equipment, inventory, and cash after the party is distracted by a LookBehindYou. Ensues a StealthBasedMission unless [[BareFistedMonk Ayla]] is in the current party.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'' has you captured and stripped of your weapons.
* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', [[spoiler:the protagonist spends a few days in jail after breaking into Cecilia’s hotel room]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' has an extremely long prison level early in the game, where the player has to compete in various minigames and do a lot of hand-to-hand combat to arrange a prison break.
* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' features one of these after [[spoiler:you send a warning signal to the NSF and antagonize UNATCO]]. Getting out of the cell is easy, while escaping the whole prison complex can be nigh-impossible depending on the character build.
* ''VideoGame/DiscworldNoir'' has a brief prison-escape scene at the Patrician's Palace, which takes Lewton into [[spoiler: Leonard of Quirm's secret workshop]]. A subversion because, once he's broken out of his cell, Lewton has to repeatedly break back ''into'' the secret location he'd escaped through to close the case.
* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' opens with the party being trapped in a concentration camp for [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals Sourcerers]], with the first act devoted to finding a way to remove their PowerLimiter collars and escape. There's also the main quest "Shadow Over Driftwood", where the party is captured by the mad Sourcerer Mordus following a HopelessBossFight with his [[EldritchAbomination Voidwoken]] minions who web them up and drop them into different cells. However, it's possible to bypass this part of the quest entirely by abusing the Teleport spell and Teleporter Pyramids.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has an optional main quest called "Captured!", which sees your player character thrown into prison after either being defeated or turning themselves (and possibly their fellow Grey Warden) in; you can either break out alone (or with said companion) or select two of your party members to break in and rescue you. The latter option is probably the [[MoodWhiplash single biggest source of hilarity]] in an otherwise {{grimdark}} game.
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' begins with a prison episode, as the player character is shackled and guarded by several soldiers with drawn swords, and they have no idea what's happened. Unlike most instances, however, they neither break out nor get rescued; rather, they accompany their captors to deal with the situation at hand.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Each game in the main series (except for ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'') starts the PlayerCharacter off as a prisoner. Escaping or being released is usually part of the tutorial, before the game [[OpeningTheSandbox Opens The Sandbox]].
** If you commit a crime and then speak to a guard, you have the options of paying a fine, going to jail, or resisting arrest. Choosing to go to jail, depending on the game, either has an amount of time pass based on the size of your bounty or literally puts you in a jail cell with the options to try to escape or sleep in the bed to serve your sentence. In each case save for escape, one of your skills will randomly decrease as part of the punishment. (Simulating not using it due to being in jail.)
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' has a mission during the main quest to break ''into'' the [[TheAlcatraz Ministry of Truth]], the [[CorruptChurch Tribunal Temple]]'s maximum security prison for blasphemers and heretics, in order to rescue a friend who is imprisoned there. The prison is built into a [[FloatingContinent hollowed-out moonlet]] which hovers over Vivec City, requiring levitation to reach. There, you must sneak past or fight through scores of the Temple's elite [[ChurchPolice Ordinators]] to bring your friend the [[WarpWhistle teleportation scroll]] needed to escape.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' has a second prison episode as well - when you first enter Markarth you get to witness an innocent woman (potentially - you can stop it if you're quick) being murdered in the middle of a crowded city square. If you work with a local miner to investigate, the corrupt guards eventually pin the murder on you and throw you in prison. You're [[PlotTunnel stuck in there]] until you find a way to escape.
* The 1982 ''VideoGame/EscapeFromRungistan'' game starts with "escape from a jail cell". You had to (a) ask a guard to bring you dinner (b) give a piece of cheese to a mouse (c) move your bed under a window (d) give a piece of candy to a child and (e) dig a hole in a wall to get out.
* In ''VideoGame/FableI'', the Hero is captured and sent to Jack's dungeon for at least a year. Part of escaping involves winning a race against the other inmates and being "rewarded" with a private recitation of the [[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy warden's poetry]].
** A similar sequence happens in the Spire in ''VideoGame/FableII'', but this time, you're actually hired as one of the guards, and you have to help break out one of the prisoners in a period lasting about ten years.
* There are several examples of this is the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': You have to escape a prison in the middle of a desert.
** Ditto ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the desert ''is'' the prison.
** There's another in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', surprisingly ''not'' in a desert.
** The characters of VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII have to survive the Nalbina Dungeons, which is full of people who are just left there to die of thirst or starvation. The [[OhNoNotAgain Dreadnought Leviathan]] can also be considered a prison episode. After the [[TempleOfDoom Tomb of Raithwall]] the characters are arrested a third time but they escape quickly thanks to [[spoiler:the nethicite blowing up the Ifrit]]
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto2'' has a level where you specifically have to get arrested and then spend time in prison before escaping again.
* ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' throws Will into the castle dungeon near the beginning of the game.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', the first (and unplanned) visit to [[{{Film/Tron}} Space Paranoids]] revolves around the party being in a digital prison following an accident involving [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch a mysterious blue alien]]. With the help of a friendly program named Tron, they manage to escape their cell, and subsequently escape the computer that's imprisoned them.
* Used a number of times in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' the Gerudo throw Link into some sort of cell, leaving him all of his equipment, and no matter how many times he escapes and gets caught again, they just throw him back in the same cell. With all of his equipment.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' begins with a prison sequence, but makes you break ''in'' to save the princess.
** The prison in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' makes sense, but the one in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' is absolutely a CardboardPrison. The way out of the cell is hidden behind a pot (though it would still work wonders at imprisoning moblins...or [[TopHeavyGuy any adult male]], for that matter).
* Kaim and company in ''VideoGame/LostOdyssey'' are at one point obliged to escape from the brig of a [[CoolShip royal yacht]], dodging security drones and pussy-footing across pressure-sensitive floor tiles. Hilariously, they begin their escape by [[LaserGuidedAmnesia wiping the memory]] of their guard and convincing him that they were jailed by accident, so even if the player makes a mistake and the party gets caught again, the guard will apologize and let them back out.
* Chapter six of ''VideoGame/MafiaII'', "Time well Spent," follows Vitto as he serves time inside Hartmann Federal Penitentiary.
* In ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', Max is drugged, tied up, whacked with a baseball bat, and still manages to get out and continue his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGear1,'' Snake is thrown in a jail cell... from which the player can escape in seconds simply by punching the wall. The prison escape sequences of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', however, were fun and memorable.
* In ''VideoGame/PlanetAlcatraz'', although the whole planet is technically is a [[PenalColony prison]], the Industrial Area is the only place that most resembles a prison, or more precisely, a labor camp. You're stripped of all belongings and have to run errands for the bosses to get promoted, before having the opportunity to escape. One of the NonstandardGameOver screens implies you spend the rest of your life there working.
* In ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'''s parody RPG, ''[[VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures On The Rain Slick Precipice Of Darkness Episode 2]]'' the main characters are at one point placed in a sanitarium. While your two companions are locked up, tied down or what-have-you, your character is allowed to run completely free, albeit disarmed. On the other hand, when you rescue your friends, they haven't been disarmed.
* The last level of the 2005 ''[[VideoGame/ThePunisherTHQ Punisher]]'' game features Frank Castle in Ryker's Island during a prison riot led by Jigsaw. He starts out unarmed, but quickly gets guns from the mooks.
* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII: Trial by Fire'', the titular hero gets his behind tossed in the prison of Raseir. This is the first time in the game where it's not an instant death and involves breaking out, but this was all a plan by the game's villain, who then proceeds to show up after your break, and have his evil ways with you.
** And again in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV: Shadows of Darkness'' where the now-undead evil vizier Ad Avis from ''Trial by Fire'' traps you in his dungeon. Yet again part of a bigger plan, seeing as he ''hopes'' you figure out how to break out and kill the [[BigBad Master of Darkness]]. Too bad the Master of Darkness is someone you know and by hammering a stake trough the vampire's chest, you earn a Game over! Ad Avis... will you never learn.
* ''VideoGame/RandalsMonday'': [[spoiler:After Randal is wrongly accused of Matt's murder.]]
* At one point in ''[[VideoGame/{{Resistance}} Resistance 3]],'' you are captured by bandits who use a local prison as their base. They force you to fight in a [[GladiatorGames gladiatorial arena]], until one of their own has a change of heart and frees you, giving you The Mutator, a gun that [[BodyHorror essentially makes enemies puke themselves to death.]] Brutal revenge ensues.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'': The game begins in a prison; your character has to bust out after [[spoiler:awakening from a 5-year coma after the events of the previous game]]. They have to break in (and back out again) later, when a drugs specialist is required.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Shadowman}}'' the main character is tasked with tracking down and killing five serial killers and take away the dark souls that empower them. Three of them are in the same prison, and have started a riot. Because the lockdown prevents the player character from exploring the whole prison, he must use portals in Deadside to access different parts of the prison.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' has a level exploring a prison beneath the lake of the town.
** The main character of ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'' is a convict who escaped after his prison transfer bus crashed in the town. The last level of the game has the town transporting him to a prison where he must finally confront his past.
* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' sees Sonic taken to Prison Island after being mistaken for Shadow. A handful of stages take place on the island, some within the prison complex itself.
* In ''VideoGame/SpaceRangers 2'' engaging in criminal activity may result in the character being sentenced to several months in jail. This triggers one of the game's many text-based minigames. Throughout his stay the character can join a fight club, race cockroaches, become a stool pigeon for the guards and, if he plays his cards right, ''come out much richer than he was going in.'' Granted, he may also die, but that's a minor detail.
* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent'', Sam goes undercover as a prisoner to infiltrate a domestic terror organization and earn their trust.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Lloyd, the main character, tossed into a Desian prison in the middle of the desert. He busts out on his own, just before the party shows up... too late.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'', the PlayerCharacter is arrested upon entering the UndergroundCity of Quetzal as the result of a FrameUp, losing their {{Mons}} [[NoGearLevel and gear]]. You escape with the aid of your airship crewmates and have to fight your way through the mines surrounding the prison with a donated party.
* The last segment of ''VideoGame/TexMurphy'': Overseer takes place on the island prison of Alkatraz. Tex Murphy finds himself trapped a cell and must escape and make his way deep into the prison while avoiding deadly security droids.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderIII'' puts Lara in this.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII: The Frozen Throne'' has a campaign mission where Lady Vashj and Kael'thas free the Blood Elves from the Dalaran dungeons, which are full of ultra horrifying monsters. It isn't a bad level, but at the end of the day it isn't as challenging as the normal base-building campaign missions.
** ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has the Stockades, an instanced prison dungeon in the center of Stormwind serving prior to the Cataclysm as a continuation of the Defias questline and now updated to fit current miscreants.
* At one point in ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'', Aiden sneaks into a prison (by turning himself in, gun in hand) in order to frighten/save a witness.
* ''VideoGame/{{XIII}}'' features one (two?) levels inside Plain Rock Asylum, a mental institution.
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhMonsterCapsuleGB'', Seto Kaiba's RPG World starts with Yugi's imprisonment.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/GamingAllStars 2'': “Breakout”, involves a mass prison escape led by [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Michael and Trevor]] as one of its pivotal conflicts.
* ''WebAnimation/LoboWebseries'': In the four part story arc "Bustin' Out Of Oblivion", Lobo tries to free Slaz and his lover Major Snake from Oblivion Intergalactic Correctional Facility.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Episode 5 of ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' emphasizes Vegeta and Nappa being captured on Arlia. Nappa tells Vegeta to "don't drop the soap".
-->'''Vegeta:''' I swear to God, Nappa, I will [[SinisterShiv shiv]] you.
* The ''LetsPlay/HoboBros''' Hobo Theatre series has "The Great Luigi Escape", in which [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]] breaks out of prison.
* ''WebVideo/TheTimeGuys'': Doc Chronos, Timmy and Caveman have been arrested by Roman senators (almost), [[AnachronismStew King Confucius of France]], and [[LargeHam Alexander the Great]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'' episode "Cadpig Behind Bars", where Cadpig is sent to the pound, which [[PoundsAreAnimalPrisons is run like a prison]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "The Great Escape", Ickis gets put in jail because he was mistaken for an escaped fugitive by the name of Shorty [=McGinty=], due to the fact that Shorty is a master of disguise. Ickis tries several attempts to escape, but most of them fail. When he finally succeeds and returns to the dump, Shorty is soon recaptured.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1992'' used this plot in the episode "Itt's Over", where Uncle Fester appeared to have killed Cousin Itt after handing him a hair remover formula intended to remove Fester's hair and Fester went to prison because Norman Normanmeyer reported the alleged murder to the police. In the end, Uncle Fester's name is cleared when Cousin Itt returns to prove he's not dead and Normanmeyer ends up behind bars for falsely accusing Uncle Fester of committing murder.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' has "Sonic Breakout", which is about in-universe cartoonist Sketch Lampoon going to prison [[{{Thoughtcrime}} for making fun of Dr. Robotnik...]] and Sonic deliberately letting Robotnik's minions catch him so as to get behind bars to escape from prison and take Sketch with him.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' has episodes like these. Noticeable when Stan was sent to prison where he enjoys staying and doesn't want to leave.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has two prison episodes (technically three, since one is a two-parter):
** Season one has "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderImprisoned Imprisoned]]", where Katara deliberately gets herself imprisoned by the Fire Nation in an attempt to free a friend from said prison.
** Season three has "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart1 The Boiling]] [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBoilingRockPart2 Rock]]", where Zuko and Sokka infiltrate a Fire Nation prison in the hopes of locating Sokka's father, who had been captured in the war a few weeks earlier.
* In the episode "Birdbrain of Alcatraz", WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}} is convicted of a crime (which, unusually for the character, he actually ''didn't'' commit) and is sent to prison. He has to survive a lot of weird, overly strict rules and share a cell with a literal stool pigeon while his friend Lydia works to prove his innocence.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' episode "Our A-Story is a "D" Story", the subplot has Todd go to prison [[ItMakesSenseInContext due to a botched scam involving a celebrity from the previous episode]]. Two rival gangs, the [[ThoseWackyNazis Aryan Nation]] and [[TheCartel Latin Kings]], both try to recruit Todd. When he tries (and fails) to court both of them, Todd winds up accidentally igniting a deadly {{prison| riot}} [[MobWar gang war]].
* This is the premise of ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "A Date with the Booty Warrior", in which Tom and Ruckus take Huey, Riley, Butch, and four other schoolboys (who had all been suspended for fighting) on a precautionary field trip to the local prison, which is infested with {{depraved| bisexual}} [[PrisonRape rapists]] who commit sodomy just to satisfy their boredom. Things soon go very wrong when the inmates start a [[PrisonRiot riot]], and they take the protagonists as hostages.
* ''WesternAnimation/CampLakebottom'': In "Camp Lockbottom", Rosebud turns Camp Lakebottom into a prison after her favourite ladle goes missing. Prison tropes immediately set in with [=McGee=] planning a GreatEscape and Armand getting [[TattooedCrook prison tattoos]] cut into his fur.
* The ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' episode "Jail House Flock", combined with being a CourtroomEpisode, has Captain Planet in jail when Hoggish Greedly has him arrested for damaging his equipment and trespassing on his property by lying about intending to replace the wetlands his construction project will destroy. The Planeteers manage to get away and do what they can to clear Captain Planet's name.
* The ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' episode "The Label Police" had Snap being sent to Label Prison for removing a tag from his pillow. He spends the episode attempting to break out with the other prisoners, who include the polar bear for putting a "dry clean only" shirt into a washing machine and a 7-year-old girl for solving a jigsaw puzzle that is only for people 8 or older.
* The ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' episode "Field Trip to Folsom Prison" had Chicken mistakenly switch places with an inmate named Rhode Island Red while his class was on a [[ClassTrip field trip]] to a prison. Cow doesn't notice the switch until she realizes that [[OutOfCharacterAlert Rhode Island Red enjoys playing the games she asks her brother to play with her]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' episode "Prisoners of Love" has Danny get arrested by Walker and locked up in the Ghost Zone Prison while trying to retrieve an apology present his father Jack got for his mother Maddie, which he had mistakenly sent through the Ghost Zone portal while using his powers to clean up the lab.
* ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids'': The 1984 episode "Busted," although the prison serves as a backdrop to the episode's ScareEmStraight purpose. In essence: The gang is given a terrifying tour of a prison after they are caught in a car a friend -- who had run afoul of the law many times before -- had stolen. Needless to say, the tour makes the right impression on the kids.
* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' has "Wanted: Wade", where Wade Duck rips the tag off Orson Pig's sofa. About 2 minutes of the episode is a fantasy sequence where [[MattressTagGag Wade dreams about what would happen if the police caught him for what he did.]]
** A later episode, "The Legal Eagle", had Roy jailing everyone because he took his job as deputy too seriously, [[spoiler: only to find out that the rules in the book he used were outdated]].
* In the season two premiere of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', "Leader of the Pack", Coyote, at the behest of Xanatos, breaks out the rest of the Pack.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/GreenEggsAndHam2019'' episode, "[[Recap/GreenEggsAndHam2019S1E7Mouse Mouse]]", Sam-I-Am gets arrested and thrown in jail. Guy-Am-I ends up believing that Sam has a plan to get him out that requires Guy to be in prison as well, so Guy turns himself in and also gets arrested, only to find out that Sam didn't actually have a plan, but is still glad to have Guy with him. They end up having to follow a mouse who has been working on an escape plan for many years.
* WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle end up in prison after they try to sell escape tools to the prisoners in "Super Salesmen." They escape in "Out Again, In Again" and hide out on a train, only to wind back in prison again at the end.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' episode "Cell Block Rock", Ami and Yumi try on disguises to avoid running into rabid fans, but accidentally glue the fake facial hair they use for their disguises to their faces. As a result, Kaz mistakes them for trespassers and has them thrown into jail, where Yumi pleads to be set free while Ami initially gets accustomed to prison life.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHuckleberryHoundShow'': Huck is a prison warden in the cartoon "Bars and Stripes." His prison establishes the "honor system"; none of the prisoners want to escape because it features amusement rides, a baseball field, a movie theater, etc. But when one prisoner is set to be paroled and released, Huck has to go through white heat to get him out.
* In an episode of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', "Rumble in the Big House", both the Dark Hand and Jackie get themselves sent to prison. The former to release Xiao Fung, the Wind Demon, and the latter to try stop them.
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' has "Jimmy in the Big House", where Jimmy and Beezy try to bust Cerbee out of an animals-only prison by disguising themselves as pandas. Unfortunately, Cerbee had already escaped by himself, so the duo now have to get themselves out.
* Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'':
** In "Jailbird Johnny", a mistake in the [[CourtroomEpisode judicial system]] has Johnny sent to a women's prison for 86 life sentences for littering, and seeing as how it was [[ItMakesSenseInContext filled with women]], he didn't want to leave. Bunny and Little Suzy, meanwhile, manage to prove he is innocent by reviewing what was going on via an ATM Camera.
** "Chain Gang Johnny" serves as a ShoutOut to ''Film/CoolHandLuke''. Johnny and Carl are booted out of a movie theater because of the former being a total nuisance, causing the two to get into an argument, which attracts the attention of two incompetent police officers who were looking for two criminals. Johnny and Carl are mistaken for those criminals and sent to prison, but escape while posing as a married couple, only to [[HereWeGoAgain get locked up again by the same two incompetent cops]].
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' has "Cool Hand Johnny", where the evil toymaker Wacko creates a video game called No Escape, which sends robot guards to capture all the kids in Porkbelly, including Johnny and Dukey.
* The ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' episode "[[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S1E4Gailbreak Gailbreak!]]" is about retrieving a dog held in the [[MegaCorp Largest Ever Pet Shop]]'s pet storage area, which is portrayed much like a prison.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** "Bars And Stripes Forever" (1939) is set in a prison where a prisoner plans an escape past a rather daffy warden. Features a little ButtMonkey of an inmate.
** "Big House Bunny" (1950) has WesternAnimation/BugsBunny digging into a prison and being mistaken for a prisoner. He gives Yosemite Sam (here as prison guard Sam Schultz) the usual onceover.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'' episode "Jailbird and Jailbunny" had Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck end up in prison.
* "Cellbound," a 1955 Tex Avery-Michael Lah cartoon at M-G-M starred a squat version of Tex Avery's Spike character as a prison inmate. He escapes after spending 20 years digging himself out of his cell and hides out in the console of a TV set on a train, entertaining ideas of his new found life of freedom, until the TV set he's in is loaded onto a truck and delivered to the prison warden's office.
* The majority of the Mumfie's Quest arc of ''WesternAnimation/MagicAdventuresOfMumfie'' is this, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids which is rather shocking for a show meant for preschoolers.]]
* The ''[[WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse Mickey MouseWorks]]'' short "Big House Mickey" has Mickey ending up in jail because Mortimer framed him for breaking into his house and stealing his property. Mickey then has to try and get Goofy's help to bust out of prison before Mortimer takes his place at his dinner date with Minnie.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' has four examples of this.
** "Enkrypted"
** "Ninjago City vs. Ninja"
** "Kryptarium Prison Blues"
** "Hounddog McBrag"
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', "The Big House" wherein Tommy is inside a daycare center that, much like the above example, looks and feels like a prison.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has several of them, mostly involving the villains, but occasionally major characters (especially Homer, sometimes Marge) end up in jail as well.
* In "Opening Night" of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Spidey volunteers to test the security system of [[TheAlcatraz The Vault]], a prison designed to house super villains. Unfortunately the prison's computers are hacked by [[spoiler:the Green Goblin]], locking all the guards up as the prisoners are let out of their cells.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has actually had a few prison episodes:
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E5MermaidManAndBarnacleBoyIVDoingTime Doing Time]]", Mrs. Puff gets arrested after yet another one of [=SpongeBob=]'s failed driving tests, and [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick try to break her out after they agree it was [=SpongeBob=]'s fault.
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS5E15TheInmatesOfSummerToSaveASquirrel The Inmates of Summer]]", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick accidentally board a prison ship instead of the summer camp boat they meant to get on.
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS9E6JailbreakEvilSpatula Jailbreak!]]", Plankton, who is imprisoned after yet another failed attempt at stealing the Krabby Patty Formula, concocts a plan with a few other inmates to break out.
** In "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS10E9TheGetawayLostAndFound The Getaway]]", [=SpongeBob=] crashes his boat into the Bikini Bottom Jail after yet another failed driving test. There, he mistakes an escaped convict for his new driving instructor. [=SpongeBob's=] crazy driving results in the convict [[PreferJailToTheProtagonist begging to be taken back to jail]]. Mrs. Puff also tries to get in jail, knowing she'll be subjected to teaching [=SpongeBob=] again otherwise.
** "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS12E3TheKrustySlammerPineappleRV The Krusty Slammer]]" centers on Mr. Krabs [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin turning the Krusty Krab into a prison]] when the regular prison is full. Plankton later does the same with the Chum Bucket when Mr. Krabs releases all the inmates after being driven crazy by them.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS4E15Deception "Deception"]], Obi-Wan [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] and goes undercover as his supposed killer to infiltrate a plot against the Supreme Chancellor. The first step? Getting arrested and taken to prison to get close to the mastermind of the plot.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' episode "Escape from Koopatraz", where Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad get sent to [[TheAlcatraz the titular prison]], a blatantly obvious parody of... well, you know. While there, Toad reunites with his grandfather, and the four heroes escape the prison with him.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "[[Recap/TinyToonAdventuresS1E21GangBusters Gang Busters]]", Montana Max and his gang steal a slushie machine and Buster gets framed for slushie theft. When Buster is put on trial, Plucky acts as his lawyer, but is so obnoxious, that he ends up getting them both arrested and thrown in juvenile hall. Buster and Plucky later dig their way out of juvenile hall, and meet up with Rocky and Mugsy. After Buster leads them to the Warden, the Warden thanks Buster by giving him a chance to [[ClearMyName find and arrest the real criminals who framed him]].
* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'': In "Fast Track to Hackensack", Dick Dastardly sets a trap for the other racers in Hackensack, New Jersey by vandalizing a speed limit sign from 35 miles per hour to 85. This results in the Anthill Mob being arrested by the Sheriff and thrown in his jail. After Ring-A-Ding tries many unsuccessful attempts to bust him and the rest of the Anthill Mob out, Clyde explains to the Sheriff that they're competitors in the Wacky Race. As the Wacky Race is the Sheriff's favorite sport, this convinces him to give them an escort to the finish line, where they win first place. Dastardly is about to win, but the Sheriff arrests him for shooting at him and resisting arrest.
* The ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces2017'' episode "Smokey and the Racers" had all the racers end up in prison when Dick Dastardly attempted to cheat by having his cousin Sheriff Longarm D. Law arrest the other racers for speeding. Unfortunately for Dastardly, his cousin arrests him as well, forcing him to work with Peter Perfect, Penelope Pitstop, I.Q. Ickley, and the Gruesome Twosome in finding a way to bust out of jail.
* In "Terrors" of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', Superboy and Miss Martian go undercover into Belle Reve to ascertain and foil a break out attempt.
[[/folder]]

** In "Doing Time", Mrs. Puff gets arrested after yet another one of [=SpongeBob=]'s failed driving tests, and [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick try to break her out after they agree it was [=SpongeBob=]'s fault.
** In "The Inmates of Summer", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick accidentally board a prison ship instead of the summer camp boat they meant to get on.
** In "Jailbreak", Plankton, who is imprisoned after yet another failed attempt at stealing the Krabby Patty Formula, concocts a plan with a few other inmates to break out.
** In "The Getaway", [=SpongeBob=] crashes his boat into the Bikini Bottom Jail after yet another failed driving test. There, he mistakes an escaped convict for his new driving instructor. [=SpongeBob's=] crazy driving results in the convict [[PreferJailToTheProtagonist begging to be taken back to jail]]. Mrs. Puff also tries to get in jail, knowing she'll be subjected to teaching [=SpongeBob=] again otherwise.

* ''VideoGame/{{Silent Hill 2}}'' has a level exploring a prison beneath the lake of the town.

* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent'', Sam goes undercover as a prisoner to infiltrate a domestic terror organization and earn their trust.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "The Great Escape", Ickis gets put in jail because he was mistaken for an escaped fugitive.

** In "Jailbird Johnny", a mistake in the [[CourtroomEpisode judicial system]] has Johnny sent to a women's prison for littering, and seeing as how it was [[ItMakesSenseInContext filled with women]], he didn't want to leave. Bunny and Little Suzy, meanwhile, manage to prove he is innocent by reviewing what was going on via an ATM Camera.

Despite this being only a segment of the series, [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore it might end up having permanent effects on the tone of the series from that point on]]. For example, it may [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook portray major characters as becoming more inclined to crime as a result of said imprisonment]]. More generally, a prison episode is often used to show and/or begin a DarkerAndEdgier ToneShift.

** "Chain Gang Johnny" serves as a ShoutOut to ''Film/CoolHandLuke''. Johnny and Carl are booted out of a movie theater because of the former being a total nuisance, causing the two to get into an argument, which attracts the attention of two incompetent police officers who were looking for two criminals on the loose. Johnny and Carl are mistaken for those criminals and sent to prison, but escape while posing as a married couple, only to [[HereWeGoAgain get locked up again by the same two incompetent cops]].

** "The Double Wall," from the third season, where a prisoner, who claims he's innocent of the murder charge that sent him to prison, holds a prison doctor hostage to force McGarrett into re-opening his case.
** "The Case Against McGarrett" from season eight, finds McGarrett held hostage in prison, this time put on trial by Honore Vashon (Harold Gould) for the murder of Vashon's son Chris Making this a SequelEpisode as well (to season five's "V For Vashon" trilogy - Chris Vashon is killed at the end of Part 1, "V For Vashon: The Son").

* ''Machinima/GamingAllStars 2'': “Breakout”, involves a mass prison escape led by [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Michael and Trevor]] as one of its pivotal conflicts.

** "Texas vs. Cahill," near the end of Season 5, has Alex unjustly held on murdering an ex-boyfriend, who is defending a crime boss from her prosecution[[spoiler:, until Walker and Trivette manage to prove that crime boss [[FrameUp framed her]]]]. While held in jail, Alex has to deal with inmates whom she prosecuted, until she is saved by an inmate held on trumped-up charges.

** "Fight or Die sees Walker, Gage and Trivette posing as hardened inmates (former two) and a guard (Trivette) to bring down an underground prize-fighting ring, where the warden and a corrupt promoter are forcing inmates to fight for their lives in mixed martial arts-type matches.

** In "Jack in the Box", Jack Dalton is sent to a prison farm by a CorruptHick who is using the prisoners as a workforce for his mine. Mac ends up in the same prison when he goes looking for Jack.

** "Mr. Justice," from the sixth season has Walker and the Rangers fighting the bureaucracy of a state senator who is opposed to opening a boot camp for young offenders, as a "second chance" and alternative to prison. Much of the action, aside from the senator's efforts to derail Walker's efforts, shows the offenders being helped to turn their lives around.
** "Fight or Die, toward the end of Season 7, sees Walker, Gage and Trivette pose as hardened inmates (former two) and a guard (Trivette) to bring down an underground prize-fighting ring, where the warden and a corrupt promoter are forcing inmates to fight for their lives in mixed martial arts-type matches.

* The ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' episode "Field Trip to Folsom Prison" had Chicken mistakenly switch places with an inmate named Rhode Island Red while his class was on a field trip to a prison. Cow doesn't notice the switch until she realizes that [[OutOfCharacterAlert Rhode Island Red enjoys playing the games she asks her brother to play with her]].