TV Review - Prodigal Son

This series is yet another among tons on television that revels in the idea of serial killers and the art and obsession of trying to understand them, as well as being in awe of them. The art and obsession might be a cultural sickness in the United States, but it's at least a trend that some like me might be sick of seeing. This series is proof positive that the legacy of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) remains ever strong. This series is very much taking the central idea in that 1991 Oscar-winner and making it a week-to-week deconstruction. For those who have forgotten or haven't seen, The Silence of the Lambs was about a female FBI agent who goes to interview a serial killer in prison in hopes of gaining insight on how serial killers think and operate, so that she can catch a serial killer still on the loose. That's what this series, created by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, is doing. It's a week-to-week mystery involving a FBI agent going to interview a serial killer in prison in order to gain insight on how serial killers think and operate, so that the agent can can catch a murderer still on the loose.

The difference is that the FBI agent here isn't a woman and the hook is that the FBI agent isn't just interviewing some random serial killer in prison. He's interviewing his father. Yes, the FBI agent here is actually the son of said serial killer. This would have been more of an interesting premise or twist, if it hadn't already been done on NBC's The Blacklist (2013). Of course, the series plays on all the complications that this connection would obviously bring up, including the idea that maybe the serial killer instinct or behavior is something that could be inherited or passed along. The question is thrown out that the father's psychosis is shared in the son. At least, it's implied that whatever compelled the father to kill is compelling the son to investigate killing. The series also explores the psychical effect that having such a monstruous criminal in the family can do to the family.

Tom Payne (The Walking Dead and Waterloo Road) stars as Malcolm Bright, the FBI agent who is kicked out of the Bureau for his reckless behavior. However, he has a friend in the NYPD whom gives him a consulting job on helping the NYPD profile serial killers. His first case is a copycat killer to his father. This compels Malcolm to visit his father in prison and talk to him. Otherwise, he and his family avoid contact with Malcolm's father. Malcolm isn't psychotic but the potential seems to be there. He does have mental issues, which require he take medication. He also has horrible night terrors, which require that he be restrained at night when he sleeps. Other than that, he's a veritable Sherlock Holmes when it comes to solving murder cases. He's also very cocky and arrogant about it, which is in line with male protagonists from similar type shows like The Mentalist (2008) and Elementary (2012).

I suppose it's commendable that this series is riffing on The Silence of the Lambs. The problem though is that other shows with better craft and depth have already beat the series to the punch. NBC's Hannibal (2013) and Netflix's Mindhunter (2017) are also riffs on The Silence of the Lambs. Both those shows do it better than this one. Whether it's the sensationalism of Hannibal or the gritty realism of Mindhunter, those shows are vastly better. This one just pales in comparison.

Michael Sheen (The Good Fight and Masters of Sex) co-stars as Martin Whitly, the father to Malcolm and the aforementioned serial killer in prison. He's the equivalent to Hannibal Lecter, except he doesn't eat people. Sheen is playing the character much in the same way he portrayed his character in The Good Fight. It almost comes across as a comical character who's light and jokey. Clearly, he's a psychopath, but he's meant to be fun. Yet, there are hints of his darkness, but so far the show is keeping that at bay.

We've been told that he's responsible for 23 murders, at least 23 that have been identified. There's hints that there are more victims who haven't been identified or linked to him. Yet, his presence is meant to provide insight or knowledge that no one else can provide about serial killers. As it stands in the initial episodes, that insight or knowledge isn't that insightful or knowledgeable. It's the same issue that I had with the recently cancelled series The Enemy Within on NBC. That series involved a criminal responsible for various deaths also being used by the FBI, but the criminal wasn't doing anything or providing info that the FBI agents couldn't do or get on their own.

It's the same thing here. Malcolm Bright is established as too bright a character that he needs to consult his father. It seems only to exist, if only to indulge in America's morbid fascination with serial killers, which is exponentially not fascinating to me anymore.

Rated TV-14.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Mondays at 9PM on FOX.