The world of Prison Escape is growing since Hulu ordered the Elgin James pilot to series.
In the new Prison Escapea soldier turned correctional officer takes a job at one of America’s deadliest prisons to prove how far she will go for someone she loves.
The cast includes Emily Browning as Cassidy, Drake Rodger as Tommy, Lukas Gage as Jackson, Clayton Cardenas as Michael “Ghost”, JR Bourne as Junior, Georgie Flores as Andrea and Myles Bullock as Darius “Red”.
As previously reported, James’ version will be his own thing and take place in the same universe as Paul Scheuring’s original Fox series of the same name. The new project is not expected to involve the characters at the center of the OG project, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell). The spinoff was first revealed to be in development in late 2023 and was picked up as a pilot in December.
The pilot also starred Priscilla Delgado, Ray McKinnon, Margo Martindale, Donal Logue, Lili Taylor and Sylvester Powell.
The original Prison Escapewhich debuted in 2005, followed Michael, a young man determined to prove the innocence of his convicted brother Lincoln and save him from death row by hatching an elaborate plan to escape from prison. The series aired on Fox for four seasons, followed by a TV movie called The final breakaired in 2009, 12 days after the season 4 finale.
A 2015 Prison Escape the sequel limited series starring Miller and Purcell, also on Fox, served as its fifth season. Prison Escape was the #1 most-streamed series in the United States in August 2024, according to Nielsen. All episodes of the crime drama are available to stream on Hulu.
James is showrunner, executive producer, writer and director of the pilot, filmed in West Virginia in June. Dawn Olmstead, who produced the original series, returns as EP alongside James. Scheuring, Marty Adelstein and Neal Moritz also serve as EPs. Prison Escape comes to Hulu from 20th Television.
James co-created, produced and hosted the hit FX series. Mayans MC., which lasted five seasons. He also wrote, directed and composed the music for his first film Little birds with Temple Juno and Leslie Mann. The film premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and won a National Board of Review Award. James also co-wrote the screenplay Lowriders for Imagine Entertainment and Universal Pictures, released theatrically in 2017. He is repped by WME, Hunting Lane and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett and Kole.
Olmstead is a veteran film and television producer. On the feature film side, she produced the psychological horror film The Black List. Mom’s house for Lionsgate written and directed by James Morosini. She is also an executive producer on the upcoming thriller Summitstarring Charlize Theron, written by Jeremy Robbins and directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Olmstead is producing several projects with Secret Menu, including the documentary Gilbert Goons and the documentary Alexander Brothers, among others in development.
