Alcatraz is an American television series created by
Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, and produced by
J. J. Abrams and
Bad Robot Productions. The series premiered on
Fox on January 16, 2012, as a
mid-season replacement. Switching between eras, the series focuses on the
Alcatraz prison, which was shut down in 1963 due to unsafe conditions for its prisoners and guards. The show's premise is that both the prisoners and the guards disappeared in 1963 and have abruptly reappeared in modern-day San Francisco, where they are being tracked down by a government agency. The series starred
Sarah Jones,
Jorge Garcia,
Sam Neill, and
Parminder Nagra.