Tahar Rahim Escapes from Death Row: “Prisoner” Comes to Canal+

Paris – July 13, 2026: The story begins with a prisoner transfer, but in Prisoner, security is only a brief and illusory promise. This new Canal+ UK series starring Tahar Rahim puts protagonist Tibor Stone and prisoner escort officer Amber Todd in the worst possible situation after a prison van is attacked: the two are handcuffed together, being hunted, and have no allies they can trust.

Rahim plays Tibor, once a top professional hitman and now about to testify against the Pegasus criminal network he once served. It is precisely his testimony that makes him an extremely valuable and simultaneously highly endangered figure. Amber, played by Izuka Hoyle, is responsible for getting him to court. When the convoy is attacked, her official assignment turns into a flight, pushing both of them to their physical and moral limits.

Canal+ will launch the six-part series on Monday evening, July 13, with two episodes. Its narrative relies less on mystery than on pace: chases, shifting loyalties, and the danger that betrayal could happen at any moment drive the plot forward. The title therefore refers not only to the man in handcuffs. Amber, too, is caught in a web of violence, corruption, and choices whose cost keeps rising.

The screenplay was created by Matt Charman, who gained international attention for the film Bridge of Spies. Otto Bathurst and Pia Strietmann co-direct. Bathurst has a feel for the grittier side of British thriller storytelling; in this series, he combines that quality with a clear premise that works precisely because it does not beat around the bush. A prisoner and his escort must distrust one another, yet have no choice but to rely on each other.

Alongside Rahim and Hoyle, Eddie Marsan, Catherine McCormack, Leonie Benesch, and Finn Bennett also appear in the series. Since Ein Prophet, Rahim has also created striking characters in international productions such as The Serpent; as Tibor Stone, he displays a toughness that does not need to announce itself loudly. His performance is full of restrained unease: every glance seems to be assessing the possibility of the next escape.

Prisoner premiered in April in the non-competition section of the Canneseries television festival and is co-produced by Canal+ and Sky. The thriller now arrives on French television as a Canal+ original. That the series gives viewers hardly any time to catch their breath is no accident, but its central principle: across six episodes, a transfer becomes a tense race against those who know exactly how much silence is worth.