Fox has opted not to renew drama Prodigal Son for a third season. It is unclear yet whether leading studio Warner Bros TV would be shopping the series elsewhere. Sibling streamer HBO Max, which has previous seasons of Prodigal Son, would be a logical destination for the serialized serial killer drama.
Sophomore Prodigal Son, co-produced by Fox Entertainment, was a true bubble show. It was the last Fox drama to get a renewal last year, a move that didn’t come until after the upfronts, and it came down to the wire again for the series. It was liked creatively at the network, and there was a will to try and find a path to bring the series back, with various scenarios explored.
Its linear ratings were pretty modest — Prodigal Son was the lowest-rated among the current Fox drama series — but it has been doing well in digital viewing. The remaining three Fox drama series, 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star and The Resident, are expected to be renewed.
Prodigal Son had an unusual — and challenging — production schedule stemming from the casting of Michael Sheen, which had been an obstacle throughout the show’s run. But the show had been able to work around it for two seasons while attracting big names for season-long arcs, most recently Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The series’ Season 2 cast and producing team included Sheen, Tom Payne, Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips, Zeta-Jones, Halston Sage, Aurora Perrineau, Frank Harts, Keiko Agena, Chris Fedak, Sam Sklaver, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
The cancellation for Prodigal Son comes as Fox picked up four new drama series for next season — Monarch, The Big Leap, Our Kind of People and The Cleaning Lady — up from two last season.