As "Prison Break" (finally) returns to Fox's schedule tonight (7 p.m., Ch. 13), fans should expect the unexpected.

"There will be escalations in a lot of the different story lines. There will be exits of certain characters — deaths," said creator/executive producer Paul Scheuring.

And just because you think you know what's going to happen next, don't count on it.

"Things will not go according to plan — almost ever," he said with a laugh. "And I think things become more complex with the relationships between the characters in the show. You start to learn a lot more about who these characters are and a lot more about what's really going on behind the scenes in terms of the conspiracy."

"Prison Break" picks up where it left off on Nov. 28. The breakout has run into a brick wall; Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is about to be executed, and his brother, Michael (Wentworth Miller) — who got himself sent to prison in order to break Lincoln out — is at a loss.

Meanwhile, there are more machinations going on involving the governor (John Heard), the vice president (Patricia Wettig) and the whole conspiracy involving the murder (maybe) of her brother, for which Lincoln was falsely convicted.

It's tense, enthralling, exciting stuff — the perfect show to pair with "24," which follows at 8 p.m.

THE PERSON BEHIND the conspiracy on "Prison Break" is a powerful political figure who's strong, devious, female and blond. And harbors presidential ambitions.

Any similarities between Wettig — a two time Emmy winner for "thirtysomething" — and a certain former first lady and current U.S. senator from New York are not coincidental.

"She (Patricia Wettig) has certain similarities to a certain woman in power that we think is really cool," Scheuring said.

Actually, one of the cooler things "Prison Break" did last fall was let us hear Caroline Reynolds' voice but not see her face. And it was a surprise when she turned out not only to be pulling the strings but to be the veep.

"One of the first things we did was establish that there was the shot-caller behind the scenes on the conspiracy side," Scheuring said. "We wanted to make it a woman, because we thought that would be an intriguing image. But, secondarily, we wanted to play against people's assumptions that the woman must be the president's wife or something and never really think that the woman could be the vice president."

Very cool.

SOME PEOPLE — those who've never seen the show, apparently — have questioned how "Prison Break" can continue once the convicts break out of prison.

"If you take 'The Great Escape' as a model, just because the guys got out of prison, the film was not over. And, basically, the show will turn into 'The Fugitive' times eight or 10 or however many ultimately get outside the wall," Scheuring said. "It becomes a nationwide manhunt at that point. We've been laying the foundation of all these guys' story lines. . . . So by no means once they hop outside those walls is this series over."

Got it?

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com