Prison Break fans have spent seven long years calling for a reboot and it seems world events (heard of ISIS?) have inspired producers at Fox to give the series another go round.
Don’t fret if you haven’t watched the previous four seasons. Much like Homeland, it’s sometimes hard to tell the goodies from the baddies. But that’s kind of the point – we like a bit of suspense and double-dealing.
The basic premise is simple. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) are brothers who are constantly in trouble thanks to their family history with terrorists and shady government groups.
Lincoln is the brawn. Michael is the brain (but also gorgeous or the show wouldn’t have amassed so many female fans).
As the show develops, the boys end up in and out of prison where they cross paths with an eccentric band of criminals and law-men whose actions appear equally motivated by greed and revenge.
Judging from the amazing trailer, it looks like season five will be more of the same. The major SPOILER is that Michael Scofield, presumed dead at the end of series movie, is alive and well. But this time, he’s holed up in the Middle East…
What’s the Prison Break series 5 release date?
Fox announced that nine new episodes will air in early 2017. An official start date is yet to be released.
Judging from Wentworth Miller’s Instagram, filming in Morocco wrapped five weeks ago.
The Prison Break season 5 trailer
The official trailer has over 10 million hits and counting.
It opens with Michael’s little boy asking Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) what his REAL father was like, to which she replies: "He was like a storm appearing suddenly out of a clear blue sky, and disappearing just as quickly…”
As the trailer rolls on, we learn that Michael may have disappeared (for a bloody long time!) but he’s certainly still breathing. Spoilers reveal he's trapped in a Yemini jail where he uses the same cryptic techniques to solicit help from his brother and series favourite, C-Note (Rockmond Dunbar), to bust him out.
Prison Break spoilers
Launching a reboot seven years after the series wrapped has clearly left the door wide open for a terrorist-inspired storyline.
Dominic teased: "This version [of the series] is more worldly, it's heavy shit. The first season was heavy, but this is real heavy shit, because we're dealing with ISIS, we're dealing with ISIL.
"And on top of that as the background, I'm trying to get my brother out of a Yemen prison - one of the worst prisons in the world. So you have all that going on - it's on another level."
You’ll have to tune in for a full explanation of Michael's hiatus from the family.
Wentworth hinted: "He's been up to some not so nice things and there's a question as to whether or not he's even qualified to be considered a good man.
"Has he crossed the line in a way that he can never come back? That's at the heart of the story we're currently telling."
News on the Prison Break characters
**Returning favourites: **
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Lincoln Burrrows (Dominic Purcell)
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Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller)
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Michael’s partner Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies)
Cellies:
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Fernando Sucre (Amaury Nolasco)
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Benjamin 'C-Note' Franklin (Rockmond Dunbar)
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T-Bag (Robert Knepper)
Antagonists:
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Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein)
The biggest disappointment is that William Fichtner won’t be returning as rogue FBI agent, Alexander Mahone. Creator Paul Scheuring says he didn't know where to take the troubled character. Sob.
New faces:
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Royal Pains actor Mark Feuerstein as Sara’s new husband (heartbroken), Scott Ness
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Inbar Lavi as Lincoln’s love interest and activist, Sheba
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Fast and Furious baddie Rick Yune as Ja, an identity thief we predict is on board to help bust Michael up and set him up for a return to the US
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Kick-Ass 2 actor Augustus Prew as Whip
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Newbie Amin El Gamal as Cyclops
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Torchwood actress Marina Benedict will play a villain nicknamed A&W
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Kunal Sharma as Sid, a man who the trailer suggests is in prison for his homosexuality
Prison Break series' recap
Season 1:
The first season sees Michael try to bust Lincoln out of prison after he’s been framed for murdering the vice-president’s brother. Being a structural engineer and very clever, he commits an armed robbery to get sent inside the same penitentiary (Fox River).
He TATTOOS the building plans over his entire body to guide their escape. Whilst inside, Michael falls for prison doctor, Sara Tancredi, and be-friends some interesting characters who become vital to his plan. The escaped convicts become known as the Fox River Eight.
Season 2:
The second season is focused on the great escape as the Fox River Eight are pursued across the country by ex-guard Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) and FBI agent Alexander Mahone (William Fichtner). In a brilliant twist, Mahone is revealed to be an operative for a terrorist group known as The Company.
The chase leads the group down to Panama where Mahone and Bellick are arrested alongside Michael and imprisoned at the Penitenciaría Federal de Sona.
Season 3:
The third season follows Michael and the gang inside Sona where he's been co-opted by The Company to free a mystery man named James Whistler (Chris Vance). Whilst Michael works on his escape plan, Lincoln battles Company agent, Gretchen Morgan (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who's kidknapped Sara and his son, LJ (Marshall Scot Allman).
Fans of the show will remember the failed rescue that sees Sara’s HEAD turn up in a box. This plot twist was apparently over a disputed contract, so it’s lucky for the show’s producers that Lincoln was always a dummy who can’t tell a real head from a Barbie.
Season 4:
The story goes a bit off piste in the final season where the action revolves around an ill-defined but threatening piece of tech (a renewable power cell) held by The Company. Michael gets re-united with Sara and (shock horror!) the mother he presumed dead but it turns out an evil terrorist trying to have him and Lincoln killed.
The final episode and television movie, Prison Break: The Final Break, shows what happened between the demise of The Company and Michael's apparent death.
Where can I catch up on Prison Break?
If you haven’t seen the show or want a little refresher, you can catch up on online.