"Prison Break" Heads to Cells By Natalie Finn
Calling all cars, calling all cars -- Prison Break is making a run for your cell phones.
Fox announced Monday that it will produce a series of two-minute mobisodes -- teeny TV episodes for mobile phones -- that complement the plot of the hit save-my-brother-or-bust drama Prison Break.
The 26-installment serial, Prison Break: Proof of Innocence, introduces the character Amber McCall, who works feverishly to clear her friend L.J. -- son of the wrongly convicted Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Pursell) -- after L.J. is framed for murder. Webisode producers were allowed complete access to the show's location, filming many of the exterior shots at the deserted Illinois prison that stands in for Prison Break's Fox River State Penitentiary.
Proof of Innocence will be available for free exclusively to Sprint customers for viewing on SprintTV's Fox station starting this week. In two weeks they will be available on
While this is not the first time Fox has answered the mobile phone call, having already given action fans their weekly dose of pocketsize drama with the first-ever scripted mobisode series, 24: Conspiracy, the upcoming Prison Break spinoff is the first of its kind to be supported by advertising.
Toyota will air 10-second messages at the beginning of each mobisode and each segment will prominently feature Toyota vehicles, according to a joint statement made by the car manufacturer and Fox. The deal also hands Toyota the reins to create a Prison Break "microsite" on Fox's Website featuring behind-the-scenes video and Prison Break info and, of course, an extensive Toyota ad campaign.
Although the financial specifics involved in the partnership weren't made public, media analysts are estimating the deal is worth around $10 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We're pleased by the overwhelming success of our mobisodes as a new way to engage and entertain consumers," said Mitch Feinman, VP of digital content for Fox Mobile Entertainment.
"This is a prime example of how Fox can come together in a rich, cross platform campaign and reach the most desirable demographics in unique and custom ways," said John Trimble, senior VP of advertising sales for Fox Interactive Media.
24: Conspiracy's producer, Eric Young, will also oversee the new series.Complaints that the Conspiracy mobisodes were too short and that their lesser production values negatively affected 24's overall image -- although it was nominated for a special Emmy for portable programming -- led Fox to tweak the procedure for Prison Break. They doubled the installments' length, from one minute to two, and the TV show's producers have the final say over any plot twist in Proof of Innocence to avoid irritating any of the show's 9.3 million weekly devotees.
Fox's news comes just as the National Association of Broadcasters announced that TV networks and local affiliates should share revenue from content shown on the new programming frontier -- iPods, laptops and cell phones.
Additionally, three Hollywood unions announced today that they've reached a deal with Touchstone Television so that they can get rolling on making Lost Video Diaries, the mobisode offshoot of ABC's island mystery Lost.
Copyright 2006 E! Online, Inc.
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