Hard Time (2009-2013) - Season 1 Episodes and Ratings

Life at one of the most scenic lockups in the world, Alaska’s Spring Creek Correctional Center, where the inmates are surround by one of the countries most breathtaking national parks. But that tranquility is just a sharp contrast to the crimes committed by those jailed inside.

Hays State Prison is one of the toughest facilities in the state of Georgia for prisoners and guards alike. In this episode, we'll meet Stephen Crane and 18 other inmates who are being transferred here. They'll be forced to learn the ropes and face the hurdles that come with entering a new prison. Then, we'll meet Elgin Tracy, a 23-year-old Iraq War veteran. Now he is on a different front line as a corrections officer, level one, starting his first day on the job.

At his home overlooking Hays State Prison, deputy warden for security Cedric Taylor is up early and has called in the head of his special forces, the CERT Team and its K-9 unit, for a surprise shakedown of inmates. This is one of the largest actions the prison can take more than 30 officers blanket the cell house, searching for smuggled contraband, such as drugs, homemade alcohol, and even pets.

In an extreme world, transformation often occurs and starts physically, sometimes in the form of an illegal prison tattoo, sometimes becoming what some call "the female gender" behind bars.

See the Hi-Max -- the most extreme prison environment allowed under American law, and at the other end of the spectrum, Georgia has "shock incarceration" for nonviolent first-time offenders: 90 days of intense, military-style boot camp.

Follow the intense manhunt for escaped convicts Johnny Mack Brown and Michael Tweedell. Inmates go into lockdown, tactical squads assemble and K-9 units scour the countryside looking for clues.