Michael Sheen will soon be playing a serial killer on Fox’s Prodigal Son, which makes the upcoming series the second notable (and likely sizeable) television role Sheen has secured in as many years. Little is known about the upcoming series, but what is known has many convinced that Sheen’s casting in the project is perfect.
According to Variety, Sheen will be playing Martin Whitly, who’s described as an intelligent, witty and charismatic man who formerly lived with his family in New York City. He also happens to be a notorious serial killer known as “The Surgeon,” whose methods of taking down his victims will likely draw comparisons to Hannibal Lecter. The series will focus on Martin’s son, Malcolm Bright, an acclaimed criminal psychologist who understands how killers think and assists the NYPD is stopping other killers like his father. In addition to helping the NYPD, Malcolm will juggle his relationship with his very normal sister and his father, who’s trying to staying in touch with his - no shock here - prodigal son.
Sheen joins previously-announced cast members Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau, and Frank Harts. It’s not confirmed who will be playing the role of Malcolm Bright, nor are the roles for Phillips, Perrineau, or Harts confirmed. Production on Prodigal Son will likely begin soon and could very well premiere later in 2019 as a fall or midseason series. Lee Toland Krieger, who most recently directed episodes of You, Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Deadly Class, is also set to direct the series pilot, which has some wondering if Prodigal Son will fall into similar darker and/or more supernatural genre classifications than one would think.
Fox is arguably a bit more of a mixed bag when it comes to defining what it, as a network, does best. Often, the network that’s best known for showing football constantly is also the network that delivers enticing genre fare like The Gifted and The Passage. With a plot reminiscent of NBC’s short-lived hit Hannibal, there’s a chance Prodigal Son could fall into this category too, leaning into the darker, possibly supernatural, psycho-dramatic elements of the story it’s teasing. Even with some of the casting still to be done and not too much information given on what to expect, Sheen’s involvement in Prodigal Son makes this feel like a show worth tracking until it premieres later in 2019 or early 2020. It could just be the next great genre-bending series.
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Source: Variety
