We’ve seen it before and we’ll surely see it again, but an older show is getting some love and finding new life as one of the best shows on Netflix. Escape at Dannemora, the 2018 Showtime original limited about one of the most notorious prison escapes of the 21st century, started trending when it became available to anyone with a Netflix subscription back in October 2024, and I couldn’t be more excited to see one of my favorite shows from a few years ago get some love.
Now that Escape at Dannemora is a part of the public consciousness once again – or at least holding down a spot on the Netflix Top 10 – I think it’s the perfect time to talk about this near-perfect crime drama and why you should be watching it, even if you sat through it more than a half-decade ago. Let’s talk it out…
This Is Honestly One Of The Best Prison Shows I've Ever Seen
There have been a ton of great prison shows over the years, with classics like Oz, Orange is the New Black and Prison Break quickly coming to mind. Escape at Dannemora is right up there with all three of those programs in the conversation of best ever. While Joyce “Tillie” Mitchell, the former guard convicted of helping two convicts escape from prison, had some choice words for Ben Stiller and the way he adapted the series, it’s hard to see this as anything other than an intense, emotional, and hard-to-put-down drama.
The way Escape at Dannemora constructs the titular prison as less like a setting and more like a character is phenomenal and allows for a great deal of world-building that only makes the show even more of a gem to watch. The ecosystems on either side of concrete walls and steel bars are filled with three-dimensional and complex characters that live outside the constraints of absolutes, making it even richer.
Patricia Arquette, Benicio Del Toro, and Paul Dano Put On Some Of The Best Performances Of Their Careers
Though none of their names were called at the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano and Benicio del Toro were phenomenal as Joyce Mitchell, David Sweat, and Richard Matt, respectively, and gave some of the best performances of their careers up to that point.
Dano, with his nuanced and riveting portrayal of a desperate inmate who’ll do anything to get out of prison and experience freedom once again, showed he had what it took to pull off the complexity of The Riddler in The Batman. Del Toro, in his first major TV role, was also magnificent as Dano’s on-screen partner and fellow prisoner, a character who would stop at nothing to get out of the confinement of prison. But the real kicker was Arquette, whose portrayal of a prison guard who delicately walked the line between victim and accomplice was something to behold, which is saying something considering her resume up to that point.
The Dynamic Between The Three Leads Is Both Fascinating And Terrifying
Escape at Dannemora is a limited series with only seven episodes to weave together a complex, emotional and engaging narrative about three individuals whose lives all become intertwined for better or much, much worse. While all three of the lead actors are great individually, it’s the dynamic and intense love triangle shared by their characters that makes their respective performances even better.
Whether it’s in the various scenes where they’re planning the daring escape or an intense sex scene that puts the show up there with those sexually explicit movies on Netflix, the dynamic shared by the three actors honestly takes a good show and turns it into a great series that has you invested from beginning to end. There were so many times throughout the series where I didn’t see Arquette, Dano or del Toro on screen, but instead three desperate people caught in the middle of an even more desperate situation, even if was of their own making.
Even The Supporting Actors Put On Incredibly Riveting Performances
But the three stars at the top of the Escape at Dannemora cast aren’t the only talented actors giving commanding performances on screen, as the show’s group of supporting players are just as great in their various roles. This is especially true for David Morse and Eric Lange, who play Clinton Correctional Facility personnel Gene Palmer and Lyle Mitchell, respectively.
Throughout the seven-part series, both of these characters become increasingly involved with the escape and subsequent scandal that brings in state officials to see how it all went down. Whether it’s Lyle’s complicated relationship with his wife, Joyce, or Gene, who found himself getting wrapped up in the escape plot, their respective stories add so much to the show and also make the three main characters’ stories all the more interesting and complicated.
Ben Stiller's Direction Creates A Masterclass In Tension And Drama
Ben Stiller has gone on to create one of the best shows on television with the Apple TV+ original series Severance, a series that is full of thrilling drama, intrigue and characters desperately trying to escape, or at least make sense of, their present situations. But several years before spending time in the world of Lumon Industries, Stiller directed Escape at Dannemora.
I’m not saying we wouldn’t be eagerly awaiting Severance Season 2 right now if the comedian and actor didn’t first make this Showtime true crime series, but the show did allow Stiller to fine-tune his directing skills on the small screen after years of making hilarious comedies like Reality Bites, Tropic Thunder and Zoolander. And just like he would do with his next TV series, Stiller created a masterclass in tension and drama that leaves you on the edge of your seat for seven episodes.
I'm So Glad This Show Is Finding A New Audience Years After Its Original Run
Overall, I’m happy that Escape at Dannemora is finding a new audience after all these years. There really isn’t a way to make a second season since the the original run wrapped up everything that happened in real life, but it feels great to see a series that you cared so much about years ago get a new lease on life, or at least more viewers, years after you finished your journey with complicated yet interesting characters.
Who knows, maybe we’ll be talking about other shows from the 2010s getting some much-needed love on Netflix at some point in the future.
Escape at Dannemora is currently streaming on Netflix. If you want to know what else is coming to one of the best streaming services, check out our rundown of the 2024 Netflix schedule.
