Fox Television looks to be shortening the five-month hiatus to which "Prison Break" was originally sentenced reports The Baltimore Sun. The thirteenth episode dubbed 'the Fall Season finale' aired this past Monday night to the show's highest ratings yet (12.1 million viewers). The series is regularly breaking into the Top 40 shows overall and the top 20 in the 18-49 key demographic.

Til this week the talk was to air the remaining nine episodes beginning in May to make room for the networks two big ratings power hitters - "American Idol" and "24". That plan however may have been called into question as network execs are being advised that the acclaimed show may lose momentum if taken off the air for an extended period, especially when such a delay certainly wasn't written into the story (events in Episode 14 pick up right where 13 leaves off).

Numerous articles today are citing the show's return as being moved up to March, but executive producer Paul Scheuring says the network may come back even earlier - "It's totally up in the air. We may come back in January, February or May. I think we're all going to find out in the next few days". He does hint that Fox seems to be leaning toward an earlier return for the show, but if the worst case scenario does happen (ie. a May return) then the network plans "the mother of all promotional campaigns to relaunch the show". Scheuring's ideal would be to come back late January/early February alongside fellow highly serialized Fox thriller "24".

Whatever the case they're well prepared with the next slate of episodes already underway. Writing for the whole season is almost complete, Episode 16 will wrap by Christmas and Episode 22 (season finale) is scheduled to shoot the first week of March.

Thanks to 'Sucre'