The news probably isn’t a huge shock to anyone who has been following the series recently. Late last year, speculators thought the show would be coming to an end when Fox tacked on a few extra hours to this year’s production schedule. And with heavy promotion for Fringe, 24, and Lie to Me in full swing, it isn’t hard to see who the odd man out is.

Prison Break is currently on a little vacation, as Fox beefs up its midseason schedule with the aforementioned trio and a little program called American Idol. However, Fox did schedule a return for the final episodes of Prison Break–they begin their run April 17.

According to TVGuide.com, Fox president Kevin Reilly explained, “[Prison Break] got to a point where a lot of the stories had been told,” which is a kind way to say the show was running on fumes creatively. At least six hours of the drama are left to go, with the possibility of a few more hours added as Reilly said he wants the program to “finish strong.”

It’s about time. I’ve been blogging the show for a long, long time, and I’m happy to hear the news. The only thing worse than when a series doesn’t get enough of a chance (i.e. “Journeyman”) is when a network resuscitates a series over and over, squeezing as much money as it can out of a successful franchise to the point where all that’s left is a husk of its corpse.

Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but it’s a good time for “Prison Break” to end. Hopefully the news comes early enough so that the creators can bring about a satisfactory conclusion for the fans that have stuck around.