What You Should Know About The Michael Sheen And Tom Payne Psychological Crime-Drama, Prodigal Son-It's Premise, Central Casts And Reviews

Prodigal Son is a crime drama series that aired its first episode on Fox on September 23, 2019. In the ensuing weeks, the 13-episode psychological drama has riveted viewers into a second viewing, and third viewing, and so on.

Catapulting off of the success of the first season, Fox renewed the series for a sophomore season of 22 episodes in October 2019.  

Without giving too much away, here is what you should know about Prodigal Son.

What Is The Premise? 

The show is centered around Malcolm Bright, a former FBI criminal profiler currently employed by the New York Police Department as a consultant. 

He is the son of the serial killer infamous with the pseudonym, The Surgeon, Martin Whitly. He has shunned his father since he called the authorities on him when he was a child. 

But however long he runs from his past, it catches up to him eventually. The event that sets things in motion is the emergence of several copycat killers with the same modus operandi as The Surgeon. 

To get into the psyche of the copycats, Malcolm must seek the help of the one man whom he despises more than anything: his father. 

What ensues is a psychological thriller, the likes of which have seldom been seen on the screens.  

Who Are The Central Casts?

The Prodigal Son is helmed by lead performances from some of the most established stars working today.

Tom Payne plays Malcolm Bright, a former FBI criminal profiler who now works as a consultant for the NYPD. As a kid, he was the one who blew the whistle on his serial-killer father when leading to his prosecution. After eschewing his father for years, he must reconcile with his father when a string of copycat killers wreak havoc on the streets of NY.

Michael Sheen plays the serial killer, Martin Whitly. Notorious as The Surgeon, Whitly is serving his sentence for the murders of 23 people. His son ousted him as a child, which led to his arrest. But when his son seeks his help in getting behind a string of copycat killers with the same M.O. as him, he gets free reins on his already-conflicted son's mind.   

Lou Diamond Phillips plays Lieutenant Gil Arroyo. The lieutenant of the Major Crimes Division of the NYPD, he was the arresting officer who brought down Martin Whitly. Since then, he has raised Malcolm as his own and offered him the job of a consultant when Malcolm's FBI gig fell through.

Halston Sage plays Ainsley Whitly, the younger sister of Malcolm Bright. She is also a highly ambitious news reporter whose aspirations lands her in peril.   

Aurora Perrineau plays Detective Dani Powell, an officer who works under Lieutenant Arroyo. 

Keiko Agena plays Dr. Edrisa Tanaka, an NYPD medical examiner who is fascinated by Malcolm's mind for profiling serial killers.  

What Are The Critics Saying?

On IMDb, Prodigal Son currently holds a rating of 7.6/10 based on reviews by 6,224 users. 

On the review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an audience approval rating of 84% tallied from 281 users. The critical rating, however, is average at best, with a 57% approval rate based on 23 reviews.

On Metacritic, the first season holds a score of 59 out of 100 based on 12 critic reviews indicating "mixed or average reviews".   

Will There Be A Second Season?

The series has been picked up by Fox for a second season in October 2019. The second season will feature 22 full-length episodes and is expected to debut late 2020 or early 2021.

Should You Watch Prodigal Son?

Prodigal Son has been favorably compared to the titans of psychological thriller genre like Silence of the Lambs, which is about as big a compliment as you can get. The series, however, provides a fresh take on the played-out trope, and the series has enough tension and suspense to keep fans interested throughout. 

Michael Sheen does what he does best- act! His spine-tingling turn as the serial killer is one to behold, and he is easily the highlight of the series. That does not mean that the rest of the cast are amateurs- everyone brought their A-game.

Tom Payne, especially, gives one of his best performances to date. He plays the tortured protagonist to perfection, and fuelled by Sheen's magnetic screen presence; their on-screen chemistry is palpable.

Prodigal Son is a welcome addition to the psychological crime-thriller genre, and is a must-watch for fans of this niche!