As previously reported, the characters central to the original series and its Fox sequel, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), are not expected to be involved.
James is executive producing under his Sierra Drive production banner, along with four executive producers from the original series, Dawn Olmstead, who worked closely with James during the development process, Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring, Marty Adelstein and Neal Moritz.
The pilot comes a year after it was revealed that 20th TV was revamping one of its old titles with a new version of James’ Prison Break in development at Hulu.
There have been encouraging updates since then, with Adelstein revealing in July that “it’s going really well. The first script was really, really well done. They’ve given notes and it looks like it’s on its way.”
The reboot also got a boost from a Suits-style streaming revival for the original 2005 series, which returned to Netflix in late July for an 18-month limited run after a two-year hiatus.
The series, starring Miller and Purcell, immediately skyrocketed to become the No. 1 most-streamed series in the U.S. in August 2024, according to Nielsen, and topped the Top 10 Streaming Rankers every week of the month (on both Netflix and Hulu).
In the first 10 months of the year, Prison Break has streamed nearly 200 million hours total, according to Nielsen, and has been in the Top 10 most-watched series for 10 different weeks.
Prison Break marks James’ first major project since FX’s Mayans MC (2018) — co-created with Kurt Sutter — wrapped in 2023 after five successful seasons, and the BBC/Prime Video series The Outlaws , co-created with The Office UK and Extras executive producer Stephen Merchant, which ended earlier this year after three seasons.
Sources reveal that fans of the writer, director and producer shouldn’t be surprised to see talent he’s worked with in the past pop up in Prison Break . Casting for the project has yet to begin.
