While promoting the fourth season premiere, series star Wentworth Miller acknowledged that the end may be in sight for FOX’s serial drama, Prison Break. He said, “I do feel as though we may be on one of our final laps around the track… It is something that weighs on my mind from time to time.”

Miller went on to say that, “At this point in the series, Michael and Lincoln, between them, have intentionally or unintentionally killed so many people and yet they’re still running around with T-Bag — a maniac, a psychopath and a child killer and a rapist. Eventually, you have to wonder when enough is enough because it really makes my character look bad. These are the questions that I think eventually we have to answer or else suffer a fall-off in terms of believability and quality.”

Considering how many people tuned in on Monday night, it seems most viewers have decided that Prison Break has “jumped the shark” already. Though the return of Michael’s believed-dead girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies), had been heavily anticipated and hyped for weeks, only 6.48 million viewers tuned in. That’s 20 percent fewer than watched the third season opener a year earlier.

Last May, the network ordered 22 episodes for season four, following a prematurely shortened season three. That’s good news but if the ratings continue to slip, FOX could certainly cut the number. They’ve certainly treated other series this way in the past.

If FOX ends up pulling the plug prematurely on Prison Break, let’s hope the writers have time to wrap up the series’ innumerable loose ends. Stay tuned!

Image courtesy FOX.