Michael Sheen’s Gripping Serial Killer Drama Surges to the Top of Netflix Years After Its Debut

written by Leo Hartwell

January 23, 2026 3:35 am

Michael Sheen’s Gripping Serial Killer Drama Surges to the Top of Netflix Years After Its Debut — Image credit: Legion-Media

Prodigal Son, the gripping crime drama featuring Michael Sheen as a chilling serial killer, is surging back into the spotlight after landing on Netflix this week, sparking a fresh wave of fan frenzy for the cult favorite that first captivated audiences on Fox.

If you spend any time scrolling through Netflix’s crime section, you might have noticed a wild resurgence lately – 'Prodigal Son', the formerly Fox show with Michael Sheen playing (brace yourself) a disturbingly likable serial killer dad, is suddenly everywhere. Yep, both seasons just landed on Netflix and people are finally discovering (or, let’s be honest, re-binging) what all the fuss was about.

Here’s the rundown in case you missed its original run – not hard to do, apparently, considering Fox’s numbers. The show aired from 2019 to 2021 before being axed after two seasons and exactly 33 episodes. The hook is simple but bonkers: Tom Payne is Malcolm Bright, an ex-FBI profiler now helping the NYPD with all their grisly cases. The twist? His partner-slash-consultant is his own dad, Dr. Martin Whitly (that’s Sheen), aka The Surgeon, who just happens to be a notorious serial killer. You get all the family drama, copycat murders, and Sheen chewing every piece of scenery in sight – basically Hannibal meets therapy hour.

So, Why Did Fox Cancel Prodigal Son?

This one hurts a little, especially now that everyone acts like it’s the next cult classic. Back in May 2021, Fox officially pulled the plug, and this wasn’t due to lack of passion from the fans – those folks fought hard for a season three. The real villain here: live TV ratings.

Season 1 averaged around 3.4 million viewers and pulled a 0.75 rating.
Season 2 dropped like a stone, down 38% in total viewers and a whopping 45% drop in ratings (2.1 million viewers and a 0.41 rating per episode).

Fox tried to juice the numbers by bringing in Catherine Zeta-Jones for season two – and while she’s an Oscar winner, even she couldn’t turn the ship around. Add in pandemic-era production headaches, high costs, and extra pressure on all network dramas, and the writing was basically on the wall.

After it wrapped up on Fox, 'Prodigal Son' did the streaming rounds, popping up on HBO Max and Prime Video, but didn’t set the world on fire. It took the January 2026 Netflix launch for the show to find its audience in a big way. Apparently, if you want people to watch your dark crime fare, it helps if it lives next to five seasons of 'You'.

Did They Rip This Story From the Headlines?

Short answer: nope, nobody’s cribbing from the news here. 'Prodigal Son' is the brainchild of Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, and all the close-to-home trauma, wild family secrets, and murdery dad stuff come straight from their heads (or maybe a writer’s room full of true crime podcasts).

That said, they definitely did their homework. At the 2019 TCA press tour, Tom Payne mentioned that they leaned on real psychological research and true crime docs to nail the details – including drawing from 'Happy Face', a podcast about a woman whose dad really was a serial killer.

'There’s a wealth of material out there, fictional and true-to-life, to draw from. There are even people in real life who have a similar experience to the one I play on the show. "Happy Face" is one example — it’s about a daughter whose father was a serial killer, and it really digs into the pain and weirdness that comes with that.'

So, if you’re a fan of true crime, you’ll spot some recognizable themes, but it’s not like they plucked an actual NYPD family’s dirty laundry. This is fiction, through and through.

The Basics (For Binge Planners)

Just so you’re not lost in the Netflix shuffle, here’s what you’re getting into with 'Prodigal Son':

Network: Fox (original), now on Netflix
Run: 2019–2021, 2 seasons, 33 episodes (about 44 min each, TV-14)
Main Cast: Tom Payne (Malcolm Bright), Michael Sheen (Dr. Martin Whitly/The Surgeon), Bellamy Young (Jessica Whitly), Halston Sage (Ainsley Whitly), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Vivian Capshaw in S2)
Status: Canceled after S2, no S3 announced (yet?)

Could Netflix Revive It?

That’s the big question, right? Netflix has a habit of rescuing shows with late-blooming popularity. Just look at 'Lucifer' or 'Cobra Kai'. The numbers and fan excitement probably won’t go unnoticed. For now, though, 'Prodigal Son' remains a two-season blast of serial killer family therapy – but in the streaming age, never say never.

'Prodigal Son' is streaming now on Netflix – and if nothing else, it’s proof that sometimes it just takes the right platform for a show to finally get the attention it deserved in the first place.