“Prodigal Son” has been canceled at Fox after two seasons, TheWrap has learned.
The second season finale of the Tom Payne and Michael Sheen-led psychological drama, which will now serve as the series finale, will air next Tuesday.
“Prodigal Son” follows Malcolm Bright (Payne), a criminal profiler with a rare talent for getting inside the minds of killers. He learned how they think because his father, Dr. Martin Whitly (Sheen), was a notorious serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” Malcolm uses his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve their most puzzling murders, while also still sorting out his complicated relationship with his imprisoned father.
Along with Sheen and Payne, “Prodigal Son” starred Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Halston Sage, Aurora Perrineau, Frank Harts and Keiko Agena.
The series was created by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, who acted as showrunners and executive produced along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter. “Prodigal Son” is produced by Warner Bros. Television.
The second season of “Prodigal Son” was averaging a 0.8 rating in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and 3.8 million viewers, according to the “most current” Nielsen data, which includes a week’s worth of delayed viewing where available.
An individual with knowledge tells TheWrap that the decision to not renew “Prodigal Son” for a third season was an incredibly difficult one for the broadcast network, as they saw it as one of the most imaginative and intricate dramas among its broadcast competition. However, Fox ultimately thought “Prodigal Son” did not draw as strong of a response from viewers as they had hoped.
“Prodigal Son” is the most recent series to be canceled at Fox ahead of the announcement of its 2021-2022 schedule, which has already scrapped “Bless the Harts,” “Filthy Rich,” “Last Man Standing” and “Next.” Meanwhile, the network has renewed “Bob’s Burgers,” “Call Me Kat,” “Duncanville,” “Family Guy,” “The Great North” and “The Simpsons” (for Seasons 33 and 34). The series currently awaiting decision are “9-1-1,” “9-1-1: Lone Star,” “The Moodys” and “The Resident.”
In terms of new series for next season, Fox has ordered the comedy “Pivoting,” country music drama “Monarch,” the mob drama “The Cleaning Lady,” the Scott Foley-led “The Big Leap,” Fox’s “Fantasy Island” reboot, “Our Kind of People” and “This Country.“
Readers can find TheWrap’s recent interview with Zeta-Jones, who joined the show for Season 2 in the role of Dr. Vivian Capshaw, here. Check back with us tomorrow, Tuesday, for a post-mortem about that episode, and again next week for an interview with the showrunners and cast about the series finale.
The penultimate episode of “Prodigal Son” airs tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9/8c on Fox. The series finale is set for next Tuesday, May 18.
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