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'Prison Break' season 5 air date, spoilers: Series revival to feature a tattooed Lincoln Burrows

Promotional banner for the upcoming "Prison Break" season 5 featuring Dominic Purcell (Lincoln Burrows) and Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield). | Facebook/PrisonBreak

"Prison Break" season 5 has been making quite a buzz online months before it even airs, which only proves just how much fans have been anticipating the upcoming continuation of the hit prison drama.

According to research conducted by ListenFirst Media, accumulated social media engagement for "Prison Break" from May to August has reportedly reached 19.5 million. This puts it on top of the list of most-talked about upcoming TV shows, above NBC's "This is Us," and CBS' 2016 reboot of the classic series, "MacGyver."

One of the show's stars Dominic Purcell, who plays the main protagonist's brother Lincoln Burrows, has been actively updating fans on the progress of "Prison Break" productions via Instagram. He has recently expressed his gratitude for the fans' overwhelming response to the upcoming limited series revival, and has also been posting images showing off his tattooed arms, which are presumed to depict maps and blueprints akin to what Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) had for most of the show's four-season run.

When it first aired in 2005, "Prison Break" featured the compelling story of tattooed structural engineer, Michael Scofield, and his struggles to free his innocent brother, Lincoln Burrows, from the high-security Fox River State Penitentiary using the prison's blueprint he had incorporated into his full-body tattoos. Four years later, in 2009, Michael met his end while breaking his beloved Sara Tancredi (Sarah Wayne Callies) out of the Miami-Dade county penitentiary.

It seemed to be an airtight conclusion to a series that has focused much of its narrative to Michael. But apparently, series creator Paul Scheuring still has more tricks up his sleeve. He's brought the whole gang together, Miller included, and took his narrative out to Yemen, this time reversing the role between brothers Lincoln and Michael.

Michael has been alive all these years, imprisoned in the Ogygia Prison in Yemen for his involvement with ISIL, as revealed in an official sneak peak released by FOX. Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell, the show's fan-favorite antihero, will be the one to break the news to Lincoln, who would then set out to gather the remaining members of the Fox River Eight to rally for Michael's freedom.

This presumably explains Purcell's tattoos, which could prove useful in Lincoln's daring quest to break his brother out of prison, the same way that Michael did for him all those years ago.

"Prison Break" season 5 will reportedly air in the spring of 2017.