'Prison Break' Is Back From The Dead As Season 5 (Finally) Gets A Name

Dead show walking, dead show walking the mile; as we stick on our orange jumpsuits for the fifth season of Fox's Prison Break, fans are wondering whether Paul Scheuring's twisty thriller will be worth the hype when it returns from a spell on death row. Seemingly rising from the ashes, #PrisonBreak will continue the story of Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, who once again find themselves behind bars.

After months of speculation, the Prison Break Writer's Room Twitter account unexpectedly dropped the title for the revival show, so are ready for it? The upcoming fifth season of penal escape drama is uninspiringly titled Prison Break: Resurrection.

Death Sentence

Oh, how very novel. The tweet said, "Time to settle this title thing once and for all," and is presumably a nod to the show's eight-year hiatus after its lackluster final season. Resurrection is also a none-too-subtle reference to Michael Scofield's return from the grave. #WentworthMiller arguably carried the show through its original run, while the tale of structural engineer Scofield and his wrongly incarcerated brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), was the crux of the tale. Season 4 concluded with the implication that Michael was suffering with the same brain aneurysm that had (apparently) killed his mother, which put doom on the horizon for the show's lead. The fourth season wrapped with a cliffhanger that "four years later" Michael was no longer tattooing prison maps on his back and was instead taking a dirt nap. With a fitting swansong, it was later revealed how Michael perished in Prison Break: The Final Break, helping the others escape from the clutches of The Company.

For those scratching their heads about how Michael can be back — we all saw his grave — #Fox CEO Dana Walden promised that Resurrection will give us "a logical and believable explanation to why the characters are alive and still moving around the world."

Hmmm, we'll wait and see, Dana!

I'll be back.

Alongside HBO's Game of Thrones or AMC's The Walking Dead, Prison Break has one of the most miraculous recoveries of any show out there. It really was a case of "never say never," because even if you saw someone's head in a box, chances are they weren't actually dead. Michael's mother Christina remained deceased until the 16th episode of the final season, while Prison Break notoriously jumped the shark when it brought back Sarah Wayne Callies as Dr. Sara Tancredi after her apparent demise. In fact, Callies had been pregnant and the Writer's Strike of 2007-2008 and contract negotiations had messed up all plans for the show. The decision to kill Sara off in Season 3 was met with a mixed response, but fear not, the whole thing was retconned for the fourth season with the clever use of body doubles and Se7en-esque decapitations.

However, Christina and Sara weren't the only high-profile returns from beyond the grave, Paul Adelstein's Kellerman was gunned down in Season 2, only to be back again to help/hinder our fugitives in Season 4. Fox has confirmed that Adelstein will also be back as Kellermen in Season 5, meaning it is one big ol' "I died too" reunion. However, one person will certainly be missing from proceedings of Prison Break alumni: fan-favorite Alexander Mahone (portrayed by William Fitchner) will not be back behind bars. Speaking out on the decision, Scheuring decided that Mahone's story didn't fit into the next chapter of Prison Break.

An Extended Sentence

Where some of the recent spate of revivals haven't been as well-received as the networks may have liked *cough* Heroes *cough* we do know there is a market out there. 24's reinvention under Corey Hawkins shows that you don't need the likes of lead Jack Bauer to make a show great, however, having Miller back is sure to be a coup for Prison Break. The lovable cast of outcasts were last brought to our screens in the 2009, however, 2015 came with the shock announcement that Prison Break would be back with a limited-run series.

While there is just the current series planned, the Writer's Room was also optimistic that it isn't just a case of nine more episodes and out, meaning that Resurrection might not be the final "final" season of the show:

So, we could easily expect someone be sent to the electric chair, only to return in Prison Break 6: The Miracle of Michael. Given these boys' history, if I were a prison warden, I would lock them all in a box and bury it, just to watch the Houdinis escape.

The fifth season of Prison Break will air on Fox in the US on April 4, so you don't have long to wait to see Michael's resurrection miracle bring him back from the dead.