Prison Break gets a reprieve

Starring Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, who are reprising their roles, the new series was filmed on location in Morocco.

Prison Break airs tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

The characters are older, but maybe not wiser.

Original series stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell and Sarah Wayne Callies are reunited for an all-new adventure. “I had difficulty writing it”, creator and executive producer Paul Scheuring tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Prison Break has a substantial established following, but newcomers might not be sure if they should dive right into the show since this is essentially Season 5. Lincoln, who has fallen back into a life of petty crime in Chicago, is approached by a fresh-out-of-jail T-Bag (Robert Knepper), with information that suggests Michael is still alive and being held in a Yemeni prison.

That seems a long way from Season 1 when Lincoln was in a maximum-security facility sentenced to death for killing the USA vice president. He has to find Michael, if he is still alive.

He then meets Sara, the prison doctor.

While Prison Break fanatics can’t help but feel excited to unravel how Michael becomes undead, Yahoo TV gives a recap on what happened before Prison Break Season 5. Yet, new fans who have heard the recent hype may want to catch up with the first four seasons to get the full journey of Michael and Lincoln. I thought the show about the guys breaking out of prison ended like eight years ago. The only thing is there is no man under the name Michael Scofield in that prison, which leads to the most stupid and I do mean stupid action Prison Break has ever taken.

If they’re out to get rid of Michael – and any record of his existence – who better to tap for help than Theodore “T-Bag” Bagwell?

Miller’s character was seemingly killed off in the series finale, something that has to be explained away when the new series starts. “So it does have a dramatic reason for being in the actual show”. “[It] pays to have a thick skull when an iron bar falls on your #head! busting it open severely also broke my nose in two places”, Purcell shared on Instagram. “For me, the Lincoln of today is what Lincoln should have been 10 years back”.

Unlike its earlier seasons, however, the new episodes embrace its mindless action while trying to convey an important message – which, due to cartoonish portrayal of Middle Eastern characters, comes off vaguely Islamophobic.

It turns out Kaniel Outis is a “big time terrorist” who’s working with ISIL to take down the government and is in prison for murder. By the way, is there any doubt that Sarah’s husband is one of the bad guys? “It’s just constant thriller, cliffhanger, revelation….and it feels very dense”.

If there’s one thing I know I don’t want from Prison Break, it’s an attempt to interrogate the founding principles of groups like ISIS.

Lavi spoke about her character, who we were told is going to be huge part of the season.

Interestingly, the mere idea of a reboot emerged when Miller and Purcell were guest-starring on “The Flash” as Captain Cold and Heat Wave.

Will you be tuning in to see how Fox kickstarts the next chapter in the Prison Break franchise or have you chosen not leave the series behind you in your rearview mirror?

“That’s the kind of hunger that’s out there internationally for the show”, says Scheuring.