season 5 may have finally given Michael Scofield and his brother Lincoln a happy ending, but for many, the revival series was a mistake. season 1 was a pulpy, highly entertaining thriller with great characters and provided a fresh take on the prison subgenre. From the beginning though, the series had an inbuilt flaw – the concept itself. The show had to end with the Scofields escaping in season 1, and season 2 found them on the run. Of course, they were back in another prison by the end of that season and this subsequent pattern would repeat in ways that soon became tedious.
The show first ended with
season 4, which revealed in a flashforward that died, presumably as a result of his terminal brain cancer diagnosis. A TV movie called later showed he sacrificed himself to save his wife and brother. So, Michael was definitively dead – until season 5 arrived in 2017. Even if he survived the electric surge from , there was still the terminal brain cancer issue. This ensured season 5 would eventually be forced to explain his survival via farfetched retcons, meaning season 5 ended up being a massive mistake.
Of the show's five seasons, season 5 is undoubtedly the worst. Not only does it continue 's downward trend of adding unnecessary conspiracies to the story just to keep it going, but it also ruins : which itself barely managed to achieve successful closure after continuing from season 4. Set seven years after the previous season, season 5 retcons Michael's death by revealing that he was actually alive in a Yemen prison all along.
The other main characters, Burrows, Sara, T-Bag, and C-Note, then have to help him break out of prison (again) and unravel (another) far-fetched conspiracy that explains why he was put away the most recent time.
All of these unnecessary and convoluted factors are why season 5 is the worst one of the whole series and provides fairly concrete proof that the revival season was a big mistake.
Despite declining ratings following its unrealistic fourth season, after its cancelation in 2009 was for a different reason altogether. Former Fox media executive Kevin Reilly revealed that was canceled due to a lack of creativity in the writer's room, prompting many to wonder why
season 5 was greenlit. As originally reported by , Reilly stated, "" This moment of prescience would prove relatively short-lived, as season 5 was confirmed in 2015.
had something of an issue with reversing major character deaths even prior to bringing Michael Scofield back from beyond the veil. during a contract dispute in season 3, with Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) discovering her character’s severed head in a box. Callies later returned for
season 4, with her death handwaved away as an elaborate ruse by the villains. While was never exactly realistic, the increasing reliance on silly twists gradually turned fans off of the continuing series.
Michael’s emotional death in season 4 at least offered some closure in this regard, but season 5 even undid that modicum of finality. season 5 didn’t offer much in the way of fresh ideas for the central concept either, contriving another convoluted conspiracy to reunite all the main characters again. The suspension of disbelief required of even the most loyal of audiences looking for season 5 divided critics and alienated fans, with the
revival series subsequently labeled a mistake.
If nothing else, season 5 was designed as a concrete ending for the series, reuniting the brothers once and for all. That said, season 5 sets up season 6, with Michael being offered a government job to make use of his unique skills. Star Wentworth Miller also revealed that same year he pitched an endearingly silly season 6 idea where the brothers are locked up by their psychotic, previously unrevealed brother Tag, and they'd have to relive their past escapes in a new prison.
Series creator Paul Scheuring, on the other hand, appears content that season 5 ending is definitive. Fox's most recent statement on the series' future in August 2019 confirms Scheuring's sentiments, with the network stating that there are no current plans to revive to date. The final nail in the coffin for the show's future, however, arrived in February 2021 after the previously keen Wentworth Miller reversed his stance, advising that there would be no more plans for featuring Michael Wentworth and closing the book on the series' already tenuous future once and for all.
As surprising as it is that season 5 happened in the first place, what's even more surprising is that the cast agreed to return when their careers were doing just fine. Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows) has taken on the role of Mick Rory/Heat Wave in the Arrowverse, appearing as the character in , , , and most famously . He also appeared in the British-German horror movie as Berg. Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) has joined his co-star in the Arrowverse, playing Leonard Snart/Captain Cold in
and .
Other cast members have moved on since the series' first ending. Robin Tunney (Veronica Donovan) is mainly known for '90s cult classics like and , but since she had a stint on and the 2020 psychological drama film . Peter Stormare (John Abruzzi) has mostly branched out into voiceover work, appearing in popular television series and videogames such as , , and . Amaury Nolasco (Fernando Sucre) can be seen as Frankie Cuevas Sr. in , while Sarah Wayne Callies (Sara Tancredi) may be remembered the most as Lori on .
season 5 is far from the only revival series that has had a mixed to negative reception, and it has become a common trend among revival shows. famously had a troubled season 4 development, and when finally came to fruition, it was considered a disappointment as the beloved ensemble cast hardly had any scenes together., the follow-up to the cult classic sci-fi series , took away what made the original show great too. Additionally, even the revival series has gotten negative reviews, which is especially surprising given how many accolades the original series has to its name.
Unfortunately, while fans want to see their favorite characters from wrapped-up shows back on the screen, the odds of a revival series being a genuinely satisfying continuation are extremely slim.
Along with other reboot series such as , joins the list of disappointing TV revivals. However, a few have been successful, with of revival shows. andare also examples of TV series revivals done right.
