Deadline revealed today that one of the FOX hit series is poised to make a surprising return to our screens. Prison Break, which ended its run in 2017 after a belated last season, is getting revived under the helm of Mayans M.C. co-creator and showrunner Elgin James. Set in the world of Prison Break, the new series isn’t expected to center around lead siblings Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), but since it’s not a reboot, it’s likely that we’ll get to see familiar faces.
Fox has been playing around with the idea of bringing the series back in some format for years – as well as 24, which is considered a sort-of-sister-series to Prison Break. The revival, follow-up or spin-off show (it’s not clear yet) is in early development, and James will pen episodes. Original Prison Break series creator Paul T. Scheuring is also coming back to produce the new series, which signals to long-time fans that we can expect to see a degree of consistency when the time comes to press play.
Prison Break originally centered around a wrongly-convicted man who gets the death penalty for allegedly killing a senator. His highly intelligent brother gets arrested on purpose just so they can break out and escape punishment, but he quickly discovers that his plan was a lot more difficult than he imagined. The series earned popularity and praise for its protagonist’s ability to improvise (he was compared to McGyver) and also because the story didn’t get attached to its title – the breaking out part happens by the end of Season 1. It ran for four seasons and then came back for an extra run eight years later.
‘Prison Break’ is Immensely Popular
The series is worth revisiting not only because it has the potential of reclaiming its popularity, but also because the original show aired on network television. This meant that a lot of its plot points and story arcs had to be watered down for younger and wider audiences — as opposed to other prison series like HBO’s Oz, for example. In the streaming era, Prison Break has the possibility to address some gritty stories that are inherent to its setting. If James wants to get political, there is plenty of opportunity to provoke debate regarding the U.S. prison system, especially when it comes to Black convicts – something that the original show barely touched on.
Hulu is yet to unveil further details from the new Prison Break series, including cast members and expected release window.
via Collider