14 DAY TRIAL // “Prison Break” ended its run in 2009, in what was one of the worst reviewed series finale of that year, and for a very long time, not much was heard of it. A little over a year and a half ago, word got out that Fox was looking into the possibility of doing a limited revival event for “Prison Break,” since reboots, revivals and continuations were proving all the rage in television.
No one knew how said revival would play out in the “Prison Break” universe considering the events in the finale, but longtime fans of the series, especially those who felt disappointed in and cheated by the way it ended, were happy to hear of this possibility.
It is now a certainty: “Prison Break” is coming back, Fox confirmed at the 2015 Summer TCA press tour, E! News reports.
“Prison Break” will be back, with the entire original cast
Fox boss Gary Newman told the media that the network had already started development on the revival, with leading actors Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell on board. So yes, the brothers will be back and presumably so will the rest of the original cast.
Series creator Paul Scheuring is also on board. In fact, Newman revealed, Scheuring is writing the script for the first episode based on an older pitch to Fox. Newman said he had no idea where Scheuring would take the story next, but he was positive they (Fox) would order a full season once the first episode was done.
As for how it’s possible for Miller to be involved on the revival series given that his character died on the series finale (which was released as a “movie” on DVD), Newman said the explanation was simple: the revival took place before the series finale, but would not annul it.
“It is past season four, several years past where the series ended,” he explained. “I wouldn't want to give away too much of what Paul has planned but he had a very detailed, incredible story for why these characters become relevant again and why to bring them back. It's going to be very exciting.”
Before you think this might be a classic case of beating a dead horse by going back in time to explore a story arc that could have been explored years ago, when the series originally aired, Newman promises the revival feels natural and true to the “Prison Break” universe.
The light at the end of the tunnel
The good thing about today’s trend of bringing back older, iconic TV shows is that the revivals might actually be successful where the originals failed: in offering fans proper closure, but not before bringing back their favorite TV characters.
This applies to series like “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files,” but also to “Prison Break.” For one reason or another, fans weren’t offered closure that felt right with these shows, and new limited series based on them could do that.
So, with that in mind, tell us in the comments: what do you expect from “Prison Break”? Which is the direction you’d like to see it go?