Prison Break would’ve been a masterpiece ranked among the greatest TV shows ever made if it had just ended after season 1, but the series continued for another four seasons of nonsense. Paul Scheuring initially developed Prison Break as a 14-part miniseries (via The Age), because Fox was concerned about the long-term prospects of a show built around one mission.
But, based on the popularity of serialized dramas like 24 and Lost, Fox decided that Prison Break would be a long-running series after all, whether the plot called for it or not. It’s not uncommon for a show developed as a miniseries to get renewed for a second season when the network executives get dollar signs in their eyes.
Stranger Things, Big Little Lies, Altered Carbon, and The Flight Attendant were all supposed to be one-and-done limited series before getting renewed for season 2. Beef and The White Lotus were both conceived as miniseries before being turned into anthology shows. But continuing Prison Break into a contrived five-season saga ruined what could’ve been a masterpiece.
Prison Break Should Have Never Continued Past Season 1
It Told A Perfectly Self-Contained Story
The pilot episode of Prison Break sets up a captivating premise. Structural engineer Michael Scofield gets himself deliberately incarcerated in Fox River State Penitentiary with a blueprint of the prison tattooed on his torso, so he can help his wrongfully convicted brother escape. In the penultimate episode of season 1, the brothers escape along with six other inmates.
The beginning of the season set up Michael’s mission to break Lincoln out of jail and the end of the season completed that mission by having them escape through a tunnel.
There was no need to keep the story going after that. The beginning of the season set up Michael’s mission to break Lincoln out of jail and the end of the season completed that mission by having them escape through a tunnel. But Prison Break continued for four more seasons after it perfectly resolved its plot.
Prison Break’s Other Seasons Only Tarnished The Show’s Legacy
The Storylines Got Really Contrived
In the second season of Prison Break, it seemed like this show might have the potential for future storylines. Just because the Fox River Eight had escaped, it didn’t mean they were out of the woods. In season 2, the show becomes The Fugitive as the escapees all go into hiding and try to avoid the authorities looking for them.
Prison Break is streaming on Netflix and Hulu.
But the longer Prison Break went on, the more contrived its storylines got. It kept doubling down on the shady dealings of “The Company.” Season 3 put Michael in another prison in Panama, where he had to plan another escape. Season 4 became a Fast & Furious movie as the Fox River Eight got hired by Homeland Security as mercenaries.
Source: The Age
Prison Break
7/10
- Release Date
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2005 – 2017-00-00
- Network
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FOX
- Showrunner
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Paul Scheuring
- Directors
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Paul Scheuring
- Writers
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Paul Scheuring, Nick Santora
