(Phil Caruso/FOX)
Malcolm’s work and family struggles are over. FOX has cancelled the Prodigal Son TV series so there won’t be a third season.
A crime thriller series, the Prodigal Son TV series stars Tom Payne, Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau, Frank Harts, Keiko Agena, Bellamy Young, Halston Sage, Michael Sheen, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Season two guest stars include Christian Borle and Michael Potts. In the story, Malcolm Bright (Payne) is an extraordinary criminal psychologist who knows how killers think and how their minds work. In the 1990s, his father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Sheen), was a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon” who killed at least 23 people. Since murder is “the family business”, Malcolm uses his twisted genius for good, to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers. He works alongside his longtime mentor, Gil Arroyo (Phillips), and two detectives — no-nonsense Dani Powell (Perrineau) and JT Tarmel (Harts), a born-and-bred New Yorker who questions whether Bright is a psychopath himself. In season two, Malcolm must deal with the repercussions of the first season finale and his father seeks to deepen his relationship with his prodigal son.
Airing on Tuesday nights, the second season of Prodigal Son averages a 0.41 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 2.09 million viewers in the live+same day ratings. Compared to season one, that’s down by 45% in the demo and down by 38% in viewership.
The last episode of the second season (and the series) will air on May 18th. According to Variety, the decision to cancel the show was a tough one and noted that the network brass just didn’t feel that the ratings justified a third year. It’s not known yet if the show will be shopped to other outlets.
Cast and crew reactions can be found here.
Check out our FOX status sheet to track the network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations.
What do you think? Have you kept up with the Prodigal Son TV show on FOX? Were you looking forward to season three?