''Prodigal Son'' is an American

procedural drama A procedural or procedural drama is a cross-genre type of literature, film, or television program involving a sequence of technical detail. A documentary film may also be written in a procedural style to heighten narrative interest. Television pro ...

television series created by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver for the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

that premiered on September 23, 2019 and concluded on May 18, 2021. In October 2019, the series was picked up for a full season. In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on January 12, 2021. In May 2021, the series was canceled after two seasons.

Premise

The series centers on Malcolm Bright whose father Martin Whitly is an infamous serial killer known as "the Surgeon". When Malcolm was a child, he discovered what his father was doing and alerted the police who were able to finally catch him. Malcolm has not seen his father for ten years due to cutting ties and changing his name in order to distance himself from Martin. Having become an FBI profiler, and now working for the NYPD, Malcolm is forced to confront his father after a copycat serial killer emerges. He must use Whitly's insights to help solve horrible crimes while handling inner battles. He must also deal with his father, who is constantly trying to insert himself back into Malcolm's life. Along the way he is helped by Gil, an NYPD lieutenant and Malcom's father figure, who was the officer who responded to Malcolm's call all those years ago.

Cast

Main

* Tom Payne as Malcolm Bright (né Whitly), a disgraced former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

profiler who now works for the NYPD. He possesses the unique ability to view crimes from the perspective of the killer, allowing him to pick up on things that other cops might miss. However, this gift also haunts him, causing him to live in a perpetual state of fear that he will one day succumb to the same sociopathic tendencies as his father. **Kasjan Wilson as young Malcolm *

Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (198 ...

as Gil Arroyo, a lieutenant with Major Crimes in the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

. He was the arresting officer of Martin Whitly and, since then, has acted as a surrogate father to his son, Malcolm; Gil hires Malcolm as his new consultant after the latter is fired from the

. *

Halston Sage Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were ...

as Ainsley Whitly, Malcolm's ambitious younger sister; a TV news reporter. *

Aurora Perrineau Aurora Perrineau is an American actress and model. She is best known for starring as List of Jem characters#Jem and the Holograms, Shana Elmsford in ''Jem and the Holograms (film), Jem and the Holograms'' (2015), the live-action film adaptation o ...

as Dani Powell, a detective under Arroyo's command who is sympathetic to Malcolm's personal issues *

Frank Harts Frank Harts (born May 30, 1979) is an American film, television, and theatre actor. He played George Murchison in the 2004 Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' opposite Sean Combs, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, and Sa ...

as JT Tarmel, a detective under Arroyo's command *

Keiko Agena Christine Keiko Agena (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She is mostly known for playing Lane Kim in ''Gilmore Girls'' and NYPD medical examiner Dr. Edrisa Tanaka on FOX's crime drama ''Prodigal Son'' (2019–2021). Personal life Ag ...

as Edrisa Tanaka, an NYC medical examiner with an interest in Malcolm *

Bellamy Young Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, producer and singer, best known for her role as Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series'' Scandal'' (2012–2018). In 2014 for her portrayal of Mellie, she won t ...

as Jessica Whitly (née Milton), Malcolm's mother and a successful businesswoman from an old money high society family, who suffers from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

as a result of her drinking to cope with her husband's crimes *

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

as Martin Whitly, Malcolm's father who is currently incarcerated in an asylum after committing 23 murders as "the Surgeon"

Recurring

* Esau Pritchett as Mr. David, a worker at the Claremont Psychiatric Hospital who is in charge of Dr. Whitly *

Charlayne Woodard Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard (born December 29, 1953) is an American playwright and actress. She is a two-time Obie Award winner as well as a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV series Pose. She played ...

as Gabrielle Le Deux (season 1), Malcolm's psychologist since his father's arrest * Molly Griggs as Eve Blanchard (season 1), Malcolm's deceased girlfriend, a lawyer who has an interest in fighting human trafficking *

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...

as Nicholas Endicott (season 1), a pharmaceutical tycoon who has a secret association with Dr. Whitly * Armando Acevedo as Hector * Alan Gary as Burt *

Christian Borle Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in '' Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in ''Something Rotten!''. Borle also ...

as Friar Pete (season 2), a new patient at the Claremont Psychiatric Hospital *

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Known for her versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed C ...

as Vivian Capshaw (season 2), a resident medical doctor at the Claremont Psychiatric Hospital

Production

Development

On January 28, 2019, it was announced that Fox had given the production a pilot order. The pilot was written by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, who executive produces alongside

Lee Toland Krieger Lee Toland Krieger (born January 24, 1983) is an American film director and screenwriter best known for the films ''The Vicious Kind'' (2009), ''Celeste and Jesse Forever'' (2012) and ''The Age of Adaline'' (2015). Early life Krieger was born an ...

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

and Sarah Schechter. Production companies involved with the pilot include

Berlanti Productions Berlanti Productions is an American film and television production company founded by screenwriter, producer and filmmaker Greg Berlanti and producer Mickey Liddell. History The company was founded in 2000 as Berlanti-Liddell Productions by ...

and

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. On March 12, 2019, it was announced that Lee Toland Krieger would be directing the series. On May 9, 2019, it was announced that the production had been given a series order. The following day, it was announced that the series would premiere in the Fall of 2019. The series debuted on September 23, 2019. On October 7, 2019, the series was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes. In March 2020, Warner Bros. Television suspended production on the series upon the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. As a result, episode 20 served as the first season finale. On May 21, 2020, Fox renewed the series for a second season which premiered on January 12, 2021. On May 10, 2021, Fox canceled the series after two seasons.

Casting

In February 2019, it was announced that

and

had been cast in the pilot's lead roles. Alongside the pilot's order announcement, in March 2019, it was reported that

Finn Jones Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Netflix television shows '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), ...

and

had joined the cast. Four days later, on March 12, 2019, it was announced that Tom Payne would replace Jones in the starring role of ''Malcolm Bright'', during first table readings. On February 10, 2020,

was cast in a recurring role. On December 7, 2020,

and Michael Potts joined the cast in recurring capacities for the second season. On January 6, 2021,

joined the cast for the second half of the season.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019–20)

Season 2 (2021)

Release

On May 13, 2019, Fox released the first official trailer for the series. Internationally, the series aired on

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

in Canada, on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

in the United Kingdom, on Fox One in Australia, and on

Colors Infinity Colors Infinity is an Indian pay television channel owned by Viacom18. It primarily airs popular shows from the United States and the United Kingdom along with a few original shows to appeal to the English-speaking population of India and a f ...

in India.

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 58% approval rating with an average rating of 6.19/10, based on 33 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it shows promise, ''Prodigal Son'' sidelines a spectacular Michael Sheen in favor of a more pedestrian procedural storyline that often drifts too deeply into the grotesque."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Home media

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released the complete first season as a manufacture-on-demand DVD and Blu-ray on September 8, 2020.

Notes

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American police procedural television series 2019 American television series debuts 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American police procedural television series 2021 American television series endings Crime thriller television series Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series about fictional serial killers Television series by Fox Entertainment Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in New York City