Why Prison Break will not be returning for Season 6, explained

Prison Break
Prison Break season 6 will never come out (Image Source: Fox Network)

One of the highly acclaimed American drama series, Prison Break, always kept fans and viewers on edge, injecting curiosity about the upcoming threats in Michael Scofield and his brother's life. The makers of Prison Break created an externally intriguing story of two brothers trying to escape from jail after facing unfavorable outcomes. After 5 seasons of 90 episodes, Prison Break will not return for season 6.

The plot of the series begins with Wentworth Miller's titular character, Michael Scofield, determined to help his brother Lincoln Burrows (played by Dominic Purcell), who was wrongly convicted of a high-profile murder. Since Scofield knew that his brother was innocent, the engineer carted a clever plan and finally escaped the prison along with his brother in season 1.

The series continued for almost four seasons till 2009, and it was believed that Prison Break had finally ended because the show covered the entire story of Scofield and Lincoln extensively. However, in 2017, fans were surprised to learn about the fifth season arriving on Fox Network as a reboot.

Soon after its release, the fifth season of Miller's show earned less popularity, and many fans didn't seem to have liked it. Despite that, many dedicated viewers anticipated season 6, which never came to life.

Season 6 of the show will never come out as it was canceled very early, and the writers didn't even craft a pilot for it. Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier revealed during the Television Critics Association in August 2019 that the studio didn't have any plans for the next season.

However, they announced being open if the writer had a new story for the show, but Wentworth Miller had lost interest in playing a straight character by that time.


Prison Break season 6 was never officially confirmed

A still from Prison Break (Image Source: Fox Network)
A still from Prison Break (Image Source: Fox Network)

Yes, you read it right. Prison Break season 6 was initially presumed to be in the works, but that never happened. Fans were excited to see more about Miller's character, and their excitement intensified after Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn expressed hope for another season.

According to Joe.co.uk, Thorn shed light on the next chapter of the series and stated that:

"We are developing a new iteration of Prison Break. It’s very early stages of development, but we’re really excited about it. We just heard the pitch…a couple of weeks ago, an approach to the next chapter."

However, the President of the Network also shared that they didn't even have a plan for the pilot episode, highlighting the unpredictability of the sixth season. But fans didn't lose hope as Dominic Purcell hinted at season 6 in 2020 through an Instagram post (now deleted) that season 6 is coming.

But in the end, Fox had no official announcement that a new season of the fan-favorite drama series was greenlit.


Wentworth Miller was done playing Michael Scofield in Prison Break

Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield (Image Source: Fox Network)
Wentworth Miller as Michael Scofield (Image Source: Fox Network)

While Fox didn't share much about the season 6 cancellation, Wentworth Miller made sure to bury every chance for the next installment.

Considered one of the most handsome figures in the industry, Miller shared on his Instagram in 2020:

"On a related note... I'm out. Of Prison Break. Officially. Not because of static on social media (although that has centered the issue). I just don't want to play straight characters. Their stories have been told (and told)."

Miller has been vocal about his support and representation of the LGBT+ community and expressed a strong desire to play characters with whom he feels comfortable.

Since Michael was the most adored character in the Fox Network series, a new season without him would have undeniably upset fans. Additionally, season four of the show featured a perfect ending followed by the reboot, and a new story would have just dragged the series unwillingly.


Prison Break is streaming on Disney+.

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Edited by Sarah Nazamuddin Harniswala