What happens when the most underrated sci-fi show of all time is also one of the best spy shows of the 1960s? And what happens when that same show also has a large white inflatable balloon as a kind of ghostly executioner? The answer is the classic show The Prisoner, a paranoid sci-fi thriller that feels ahead of its time, partly because there’s never been anything like it since. As of July 1, 2026, the entire series is streaming on Criterion. Here’s why you should binge the whole show ASAP, and why it remains, 59 years later, an unfinished work of art unlike anything on TV.
Mild spoilers ahead.
