In 2009, the Prison Break TV show was cancelled after four seasons on FOX. Now the network is bringing back the crime drama thriller as a “limited event” series. While an ending has been crafted for the fifth season of Prison Break, the writers have said if this installment is a ratings success, there could be future seasons. Could Prison Break be cancelled again? Will it be renewed for season six? Stay tuned.  

Airing on the FOX television network, Prison Break stars Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies, Mark Feuerstein, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper, Rockmond Dunbar, Paul Adelstein, Augustus Prew, Rick Yune, and Inbar Lavi. The series centers on Michael Scofield (Miller), who once resolved to help his brother Lincoln Burrows (Purcell), escape from death row. In the revival, despite being presumed dead, clues indicate Michael may still be alive. Lincoln reunites with Michael’s wife, Sara (Callies), to engineer a huge escape.  

The ratings are typically the best indication of a show’s likelihood of staying on the air. The higher the ratings (particularly the 18-49 demo), the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available — usually the next day, around 11:30am EST/8:30am PST. Refresh to see the latest.

5/31 update: You can see the rest of the latest night’s ratings.

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Historical note: The network ratings game has changed a lot since Prison Break last aired on FOX as a regular series. The fourth season, which aired as part of the 2008-09 broadcast season, averaged a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 5.33 million viewers. It ranked 115th for the season, out of 201 network shows.

Note: These are the Live + Same Day Ratings which include “live” viewing plus delayed DVR viewing, up until 3am local time that same night. Ratings marked with an “*” are the fast affiliate ratings and will be updated with the Live+SD numbers when they are made available. Typically, networks get paid for C+3 ratings which includes DVR viewing within three days of the original airing when commercials are watched. Those numbers are rarely released to the press.

What do you think? Do you like the Prison Break TV show? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a sixth season?

5/15 update: Prison Break has been cancelled, again, by FOX. Details here.