Cult anti-authoritarian masterpiece that rewired what TV espionage could mean.
Why it matters
Episode guide
17 episodes across 1 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.
At a glance
A secret agent resigns; a village claims him. Patrick McGoohan's Number Six spends 17 episodes (1967–1968) demanding identity in a pastel prison of surveillance, mind games, and untrustworthy faces. The Prisoner — which McGoohan co-shaped — turned British adventure TV into allegorical sci-fi politics. Each escape fails differently; the finale still starts arguments. Be seeing you is a greeting and a threat.
Network & studio
- ITV — broadcast network
Why watch now
Seventeen episodes of pure puzzle-box authority — stylish, stubborn, and endlessly rewatchable. The shortest path to sounding smart about cult TV.
Cultural impact
The Prisoner became the patron saint of enigmatic limited-run television and anti-authoritarian pop myth. Its imagery — penny-farthings, rovers, the Village — is design immortality. Later mystery-box series still pay homage, knowingly or not.
Creators
Patrick McGoohan · George Markstein
Key cast
- Patrick McGoohan as Number Six
- Angelo Muscat as The Butler
- Leo McKern as Number Two
Flash facts
- British series starring and co-created/shaped by Patrick McGoohan; 17 episodes (1967–1968).
- Originally associated with ITV; became a major cult import internationally.
- Premise: a resigned agent is held in a mysterious Village and stripped of identity as Number Six.
- Blends spy drama, science fiction, and political allegory.
- The finale remains one of television's most debated endings.
FAQ
How many episodes of The Prisoner are there?
17 episodes.
Who played Number Six?
Patrick McGoohan, who was also central to the show's creation and vision.
What is the Village?
A surreal prison community where residents are watched and numbered rather than named.
When did it air?
1967–1968 in the UK, then widely internationally in syndication and fandom.
Official & further reading
External sites for further reading — TV Flash is not affiliated with these networks or studios.
Back to the decade
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Related & side shows
Danger Man
Patrick McGoohan's John Drake — spy craft without the cartoon gadgets (mostly).
The Saint
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Downton Abbey
Edwardian upstairs/downstairs comfort epic — tea, titles, and soft class warfare.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Richard Greene's Robin — British export that American kids treated like native folklore.
Space: 1999
Moonbase Alpha torn from Earth — British design porn in deep space.