Summary

• Prison Break season 5 undid the emotional death of Michael Scofield in season 4, ruining the closure it provided and making the revival series a mistake.
• The unnecessary addition of convoluted conspiracies and twists turned off fans and divided critics, making season 5 the worst of the entire series.
• Although there were initial plans for a season 6, recent statements from the series creator and Wentworth Miller indicate that there are no current plans to revive Prison Break, closing the book on its future.

Prison Break season 5 may have finally given Michael Scofield and his brother Lincoln a happy ending, but for many, the revival series was a mistake. Prison Break season 1 was a pulpy, highly entertaining thriller with great characters and provided a fresh take on the prison subgenre. From the beginning though, the series had an inbuilt flaw – the concept itself. The show had to end with the Scofields escaping in Prison Break season 1, and season 2 found them on the run. Of course, they were back in another prison by the end of that season and this subsequent pattern would repeat in ways that soon became tedious.

The show first ended with Prison Break season 4, which revealed in a flashforward that Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) died, presumably as a result of his terminal brain cancer diagnosis. A TV movie called Prison Break: The Final Break later showed he sacrificed himself to save his wife and brother. So, Michael was definitively dead – until Prison Break season 5 arrived in 2017. Even if he survived the electric surge from The Final Break, there was still the terminal brain cancer issue. This ensured Prison Break season 5 would eventually be forced to explain his survival via farfetched retcons, meaning Prison Break season 5 ended up being a massive mistake.

Why Prison Break Season 5 Was The Worst Season

Of the show's five seasons, Prison Break season 5 is undoubtedly the worst. Not only does it continue Prison Break's downward trend of adding unnecessary conspiracies to the story just to keep it going, but it also ruins Michael Scofield's death in Prison Break: The Final Break, which itself barely managed to achieve successful closure after continuing from Prison Break season 4. Set seven years after the previous season, Prison Break season 5 retcons Michael's death by revealing that he was actually alive in a Yemen prison all along.

The other Prison Break main characters, Burrows, Sara, T-Bag, and C-Note, then have to help him break out of prison (again) and unravel (another) far-fetched conspiracy that explains why he was put away the most recent time. All of these unnecessary and convoluted factors are why Prison Break season 5 is the worst one of the whole series and provides fairly concrete proof that the revival season was a big mistake.

Why Prison Break Was Canceled

Despite declining ratings following its unrealistic fourth season, Prison Break's original ending after its cancelation in 2009 was for a different reason altogether. Former Fox media executive Kevin Reilly revealed that Prison Break was canceled due to a lack of creativity in the writer's room, prompting many to wonder why Prison Break season 5 was greenlit. As originally reported by E! Online, Reilly stated, "The show has just played out. You get to a point creatively where you feel all the stories have been told, and you want to end strong." This moment of prescience would prove relatively short-lived, as Prison Break season 5 was confirmed in 2015.

Why The Prison Break Revival Series Was A Mistake

Prison Break had something of an issue with reversing major character deaths even prior to bringing Michael Scofield back from beyond the veil. Sarah Wayne Callies originally left Prison Break during a contract dispute in season 3, with Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) discovering her character’s severed head in a box. Callies later returned for Prison Break season 4, with her death handwaved away as an elaborate ruse by the villains. While Prison Break was never exactly realistic, the increasing reliance on silly twists gradually turned fans off of the continuing series.

Michael’s emotional death in season 4 at least offered some closure in this regard, but Prison Break season 5 even undid that modicum of finality. Prison Break season 5 didn’t offer much in the way of fresh ideas for the central concept either, contriving another convoluted conspiracy to reunite all the main characters again. The suspension of disbelief required of even the most loyal of audiences looking for hidden messages meant Prison Break season 5 divided critics and alienated fans, with the Prison Break revival series subsequently labeled a mistake.

Will There Be Prison Break Season 6?

If nothing else, Prison Break season 5 was designed as a concrete ending for the series, reuniting the brothers once and for all. That said, season 5 sets up Prison Break season 6, with Michael being offered a government job to make use of his unique skills. Star Wentworth Miller also revealed that same year he pitched an endearingly silly season 6 idea where the brothers are locked up by their psychotic, previously unrevealed brother Tag, and they'd have to relive their past escapes in a new prison.

Series creator Paul Scheuring, on the other hand, appears content that Prison Break season 5 ending is definitive. Fox's most recent statement on the series' future in August 2019 confirms Scheuring's sentiments, with the network stating that there are no current plans to revive Prison Break to date. The final nail in the coffin for the show's future, however, arrived in February 2021 after the previously keen Wentworth Miller reversed his stance, advising that there would be no more plans for Prison Break featuring Michael Wentworth and closing the book on the series' already tenuous future once and for all.

What The Prison Break Cast Have Done Since

As surprising as it is that Prison Break season 5 happened in the first place, what's even more surprising is that the cast agreed to return when their careers were doing just fine. Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows) has taken on the role of Mick Rory/Heat Wave in the Arrowverse, appearing as the character in Arrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, and most famously DC's Legends of Tomorrow. He also appeared in the British-German horror movie Blood Red Sky as Berg. Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) has joined his co-star in the Arrowverse, playing Leonard Snart/Captain Cold in The Flash and DC's Legends of Tomorrow.

Other Prison Break cast members have moved on since the series' first ending. Robin Tunney (Veronica Donovan) is mainly known for '90s cult classics like Empire Records and The Craft, but since Prison Break, she had a stint on The Mentalist and the 2020 psychological drama film Horse Girl. Peter Stormare (John Abruzzi) has mostly branched out into voiceover work, appearing in popular television series and videogames such as Castlevania, Elder Scrolls Online, and Destiny. Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre) can be seen as Frankie Cuevas Sr. in Hightown, while Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara Tancredi) may be remembered the most as Lori on The Walking Dead.

Revival Series Are Always A Mixed Bag

Prison Break season 5 is far from the only revival series that has had a mixed to negative reception, and it has become a common trend among revival shows. Arrested Development famously had a troubled season 4 development, and when finally came to fruition, it was considered a disappointment as the beloved ensemble cast hardly had any scenes together. Heroes Reborn, the follow-up to the cult classic sci-fi series Heroes, took away what made the original show great too. Additionally, even the Frasier revival series has gotten negative reviews, which is especially surprising given how many accolades the original series has to its name.

Unfortunately, while fans want to see their favorite characters from wrapped-up shows back on the screen, the odds of a revival series being a genuinely satisfying continuation are extremely slim. Along with other reboot series such as The X-Files, Fuller House, and Gilmore Girls, Prison Break joins the list of disappointing TV revivals. However, a few have been successful, with Twin Peaks: The Return being the gold standard of revival shows. Veronica Mars and Justified: City Primeval are also examples of TV series revivals done right.