Bill Matlock/FOXMmmm...scrambled eggs, bacon and a side of "Hey babe" with a wink from Dominic Purcell. Let me just say I could start off every morning just like this, as Fox kicks off its Television Critics Association press day at the Beverly Hilton with a Prison Break-fast. (Their pun, not mine. I'm not that clever.)
Sarah Wayne Callies is not going anywhere, Wentworth Miller is happy as a clam (make that, hot clam) and the producers are moving forward on a Prison Break spinoff. Click in for all the breaking scoop that just went down..
Sarah Wayne Callies Loves You: When asked how she felt about the overwhelming fan response to her character's death that brought her back to the show this season, Sarah Wayne Callies got a little misty: "It was heartstopping. She's a small character on the show, and I never thought they would make the noise that they did. I don't have words for the kind of gratitude I felt. It's incredible." Added Wentworth: "It was a happy day when Sarah returned. There are a lot of chefs and so to say that one person made the decision would be erroneous. And I have to say that Sarah has handled herself with grace, and dignity through the whole process and ultimately what happened is that we are doing right by the fans and bringing her back."
Say it with me now: HOLLA
Wentworth added: "Sarah is not going anywhere. She's in for the long haul."
(I won't make you holla again, but that is worthy, no?)
"It's the A-Team 2008!" Wentworth said this with a laugh when asked to decribe the new season, adding, "We are seven guys with very different agendas who are forced to work together." Their mission? To bring down the Company, naturally. (Pardon me while I send a scowl over to Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, aka Gretchen, who, eek, just smiled back. Just kidding, JLO!)
"There is a little A-Team vibe," admitted executive producer Matt Olmstead, "but it is more a Dirty Dozen-Ronin type of feel. I can give away that the show is set in Los Angeles this season, and it's that sort of a down-and-dirty, street-level Prison Break-style Los Angeles. It's not the Hollywood sign and palm trees."
PB boss Olmstead just whispered to me: "I didn't tell anyone else, but I've seen cuts of the first three episodes, and I am amazed and relieved. We weren't sure how it would work out to move the show to L.A., and at first we thought we'd have to work off of all these layers of character history, but now we realize L.A. is a clean slate, and the show has a whole new energy." Even better news? He seems 100 percent sincere.
As for Michael and Sara, SWC said, "She's back right away, and you won't have to wait. I can tell you that." She also promised some hot, steamy action, "as much as they can show on a 9 p.m. show!" But advised: "People forget that Michael and Sara really don't know each other. This whole new series started six months ago, and so I think there's a lot of 'Oh, you like grapefruit? I didn't know that, but I know I love you.' "
And Oh Yeah, the Spinoff! Olmstead told me that he and coexec producer Zack Estrin (both very cool guys, FYI) are right in the middle of rewriting the Prison Break spinoff. "We are finishing the script; then we'll cast it, and then we'll hopefully shoot it and get it on the air." The strike threw a wrench in the original plan to intro a new female character who would helm the new show—they also couldn't get their dream picks to move to Dallas, so Olmsteadt said the move to L.A. will help with the casting. Estrin added, "The new show will be more like CSI Miami is to CSI and less a spinoff, because it will be a new character altogether."
Running to the So You Think You Can Dance session (just heard Jessica was injured, eek, so stand by). I'm hitting up all the Fox panels and the party tonight, so if you have any more questions for the Prison Break crew or any of the other Fox stars and show runners (24, SYTYCD, Bones, Fringe, Terminator, etc will all represent) please comment below!