Prison Break’s Biggest Inaccuracy Is So Horrendous, It Makes Series Look Like an Absolute Lazy Work
- 'Prison Break' faced criticism for its inaccuracies, like executions via electric chair in Illinois.
- The series often prioritized dramatic shock value over realism, with moments like last-minute execution halts and unlikely plot twists.
- Hulu is developing a 'Prison Break' reboot with co-creator Elgin James, set in the same world.
Storytelling is something that is the foundation of any TV show. One oversight regarding the plot may bring down the entire narrative, turning well-scripted drama into cheesy fiction. But what if the dramatic conveniences used in a show start to look more like lazy writing rather than creative storytelling?
Prison Break is one of those series that won millions of hearts in the mid-2000s but now finds itself under the lens of modern critical analysis. This is about a pioneering series that probably lost basic realism while prioritizing the shock value.
Prison Break’s one big plot hole
Prison Break revolves around the structural engineer Michael Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller, who wants to help his brother Lincoln Burrows, played by Dominic Purcell. He plans a whole prison break strategy by tattooing himself with an escape plan.
The show’s first season was well received. It has earned a critic rating of 78% and an audience rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. As new seasons kept coming, the show began to surface a number of issues. The series started relying on coincidences and dramatic last-minute saves at the expense of credibility.
One of the most noticeable inaccuracies is the execution method. In the show, Lincoln Burrows is set to be executed in an electric chair. But according to the Death Penalty Information Center, all the 12 executions done after 1977 were through lethal injections. Moreover, the death penalty itself was nullified in Illinois in 2011.
The show’s tendency to prioritize drama over realism can be seen in the first season’s By the Skin and the Teeth episode. Burrow’s execution is stopped at the last moment due to a blurry photograph and questionable evidence. Execution in real life involves a number of legal audits and verifications, which make that kind of last-minute intervention impossible.
It looked like the makers wanted to have more drama than to maintain legal accuracy. Burrows seeing his supposedly fugitive father in the execution room is a confusing and unexplained scene that looks more like a poor attempt at dramatic effect. This kind of writing gives the impression that the writers cared little about logic.
Prison Break‘s Hulu reboot
There is a new Prison Break series to revive the franchise. According to Deadline, Hulu has partnered with Elgin James, the co-creator of Mayans M.C. and The Outlaws, for a pilot order. This won’t be a sequel but a reboot set in the same world.
Original characters Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows will not be included in the new show. James is executive producing this alongside other original series producers, including Paul Scheuring, Dawn Olmstead, Marty Adelstein, and Neal Moritz.
Recently, the original series has been seeing a huge interest of viewers in streaming services. By August 2024 it became the most streamed series in the US, dominating Nielsen’s Top 10 Streaming Rankers. It even gained almost 200 million streaming hours in over 10 months, which shows Prison Break‘s repeatability.
The pilot comes after positive development updates. The fans of the original series can hopefully enjoy the reboot from a different view. Although the details are scarce, having original producers on board and the streaming success of the original series could be an opportunity to correct past mistakes.
All seasons of Prison Break are available to stream on Disney+.
