Prison Break is one of the greatest crime dramas ever created. Everyone was hopeful of a sixth season coming to Fox soon but Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) recently confirmed that he would not be taking part in any more projects related to the show. Most fans still hope that a sixth season will still be produced although most of them don’t know the interesting behind the scenes stories about the show. The production of Prison Break has lots of highs and lows and here are the unforgettable stories that inspired it.
It Was Meant To End After Season One
Paul Scheuring, the write of Prison Break had a story for only one season of the hit show. He planned for the Fox River Eight to escape somewhere in the middle of the first season then have the chase in the other half of the season before wrapping it up.
However, Fox wanted to entertain fans for longer and hence called for a second season to the show. The writer still planned for the show to wrap up after the second season. The Network managed to bend to the demand and extend it for three more seasons than was initially planned. Some fans believe that the extra seasons came with lots of plot holes though.
Sara’s Exit In Season Three Was Due To A Real Pregnancy
Sarah Wayne Callies who plays Dr Tancredi, Michael’s wife, is one of the most interesting pieces of the show. However, in the third season, her character was killed off to the disappointment of many fans. When she returned, she was pregnant and gave birth to Michael’s baby.
Her exit was very real though as Wayne Callies was actually pregnant which brought complications with filming. She also had contact issues with Fox which were only resolved after she had her baby and hence her return in Season 4.
Michael’s Tattoos Caused Problems In Subsequent Seasons
The entire first season of the show was based on Michael having covered his entire body in tattoos of blueprints to Fox River Penitentiary meant to help him find his way out. That was lots of tattoos and Wentworth miller doesn’t really have all those on his body so they had to be redrawn with ink and makeup very time before filming started.
The makeup team had to spend up to five hours every time Wentworth Miller was to act and they had to redraw at least part of it whenever Scofield’s tattoo-covered parts were to be shown in the film. It was a tough job and the producers decided to remove the tattoos quickly in the fourth season when they were no longer relevant.
T Bag Was Actually Accused Of Assault
T Bag is considered the greatest survivor in Prison Break because nothing seemed able to keep the bad guy down for the first four seasons of the show until his redemption in the fifth. He was a villain although one of the most violent ones ever.
Robert Knepper was the man charged with playing the funny T Bag and things became real on set for him. In 2017 when the film industry was under scrutiny after Harvey Weinstein was accused of assault, a makeup artist accused Knepper of having assaulted her while on the Prison Break set. He denied the charges just before five more women came forward with similar accusations, all of which were later dismissed.
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Pope Was Once In Prison
It is hard to find a prison warden involved with inmates and guards as Henry Pope was in the first season of the show. His ability to intertwine his job and family life so well while still focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishing was too unique and non-American.
That was because Stacey Keach actually spent six months in a prison in England for trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain in 1985. He was released after six months for good behaviour and turned his life around. He used his experience in Reading to get into the character of Henry Pope which came out Perfectly.
Tweener Went To Prison After His “Death”
While Stacy Keach served his time in prison before Prison Break, Lane Garrison who played David Apolskis aka, Tweener, went there after his character was killed off in the show. Garrison was accused of manslaughter, drunk driving and giving alcohol to minors after he drove his car which had three passengers into a tree in Beverly hills in December 2006. It happened shortly after he left Prison Break, a crime for which he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Some Of The Scenes Were Shot In John Wayne Gacy’s Cell
John Wayne Gacy aka, the killer clown is one of the worst serial killers in american history who was executed by lethal injection in 1994. He confessed to raping and killing at least 33 boys whose bodies were found buried on his property in Chicago. Michael Scofield’s Cell was also the cell that had housed Gacy before his execution. It caused a little stir as some of the crew were afraid that the cell is haunted but it served as the perfect location for the episodes of the first season.
Sona was based On A True Story
In the 20th century, Carandiru Penitentiary in Sao Paulo was rated as one of the worst prisons in the world. It was housing up to 8,000 prisoners who were only served by very few prison officers. They overpowered the guards who then left the prison to be managed by gangs, a decision that led to a riot that killed 111 people in 1992.
The police then came in to quash the violence and killed more people than the riot, including those who had surrendered, It went down as one of the worst cases of human rights violations in Brazil’s history. It is the story that inspired Sona prison which made the better part of the third season of Prison Break.
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Dominic Purcell Nearly Died On The Set Of Season 5
Season Five came with a whole new twist to Scofield’s story with the heroes struggling to survive in the war tone Yemen. Most of the season was actually shot in Vancouver although the crew moved to Morocco at one point to shoot the desert scenes. It was on the set in Marrakesh Morocco that a huge piece of the set collapsed hitting Purcell on the head. He had to be airlifted to Casablanca for treatment as he suffered a head wound and a broken nose. He managed to make a full recovery though.
It Is Banned In Some Prisons
Educational programming that might inspire inmates to riot or plan an escape is banned in prisons. The same applies to content that may help train an inmate to make an escape from prison. While prison Break is just a Tv show, more than 13 prisons in the US and probably more around the world consider it educational programming and hence it is banned. It is unfair though because Prison Break is more of a story of love and hope rather than just crime.