Trade paper says a two-hour series finale may be shot

Have the expert escapees of "Prison Break" broken into and out of their last hoosegow?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show's cast has been told that two additional episodes may be shot after production ends on the series' midseason finale. The trade paper speculates that those two episodes could be a resolution to the fourth year drama.

"Prison Break" began production this week on what was intended to be its fall finale. That episode, set to air on Dec. 22, would be Episode 16 out of a 22 episode order for the season. FOX's disorienting midseason schedule, unveiled last week, said only that the remaining six episodes would be scheduled in the future.

The Hollywood Reporter story doesn't say for sure that the two extra hours would be a series conclusion (it uses the words "speculation is") and it notes that FOX hasn't committed to air the additional episodes at all. That means that the two hours, should they exist at all, might be a DVD bonus, or a two-hour telefilm aired next spring or fall. And it may, in fact, all be just "speculation."

Another possibility would make the additional two hours a telefilm in the manner of "24: Redemption" and wouldn't necessarily preclude the production and airing of the remaining six episodes of this season. What we're saying is that until something's official, it's all just speculation.

One thing that isn't speculation is that ratings for "Prison Break" have dropped every season since its first. After averaging an already disappointing 8.2 million viewers last year, "Prison Break" has averaged only 6.4 million viewers through its first eight airings of this season.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available...