Season One

**Cast:** | Malcolm Bright
Martin Whitly
Jessica Whitly
Gil Arroyo
Ainsley Whitly
Dani Powell
JT Tarmel

**Season One** of *Prodigal Son* is an American crime drama television series, and was premiered on September 23, 2019.

## Premise

The series centers on Malcolm Bright, whose father, Martin Whitly, is the infamous serial killer known as "The Surgeon". As a child, Malcolm was responsible for enabling the police to arrest his father, and has not (of his own volition) seen his father in ten years. Now a profiler, formerly with the FBI, until he was fired and currently consulting for the New York Police Department, Malcolm is forced to confront his father after a copycat serial killer uses Dr. Whitly's methods of killing. He now finds himself drawn back into constant contact with his father as he must both use Whitly's insights to help the police solve particularly horrible crimes and battle his own inner demons.

## Characters

**Main Characters**

* **Malcolm Bright** is the son of a serial killer, a criminal psychologist & heavily medical himself from his trauma.
* **Dr. Martin Whitly** Bright’s father is an intelligent, charismatic predatory sociopath who killed at least 23 people.
* **Jessica Whitly** Bright’s mother, an elegant no-nonsence New Yorker who carried tremendous guilt for her son.
* **Ainsley Whitly**, Bright’s sister is a TV journalist, the only member of their family unaffected by her father.
* **Gil Arroyo** Bright’s longtime mentor, & NYPD Detective is one of the best detectives around.
* **Dani Powell**, a headstrong no-nonsense cop who quickly becomes impressed with Bright’s work.
* **JT Tarmel**, a born-and-bred New Yorker who questions whether Bright is a psychopath himself.
* **Edrisa Tanaka** is the socially awkward mortician for the NYPD.

**Recurring Characters**

* Mr. David the main guard of Mr. Whitly at Claremont Psychiatric Hospital.
* **Gabrielle Le Deux**, Bright's childood shrink.

## Summary

Malcolm Bright has a gift. He knows how killers think and how their minds work. Why? Back in the 1990s, his father was one of the worst, a notorious serial killer called “*The Surgeon*.” So it makes sense Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; murder is the family business. He will use his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son, and his own constantly evolving neuroses.

Meet the happy family. Dr. Martin Whitly is intelligent, wealthy, charismatic and also happens to be a predatory sociopath who killed at least 23 people. Bright’s mother, Jessica Whitly, an elegant and WASPy New Yorker, wields sarcasm like a samurai sword and has an opinion on every aspect of Bright’s life. Perhaps Bright’s only ally is his sister, Ainsley Whitly, a TV journalist who wishes her brother would “take a break from murder” and have a normal life.

Unfortunately for his sister, the only way Bright feels normal is by solving cases with the help of his longtime mentor, NYPD Detective Gil Arroyo. Arroyo’s one of the best detectives around, and he expects no less from his team – Detective Dani Powell, a headstrong no-nonsense cop who quickly becomes impressed with Bright’s work; and Detective JT Tarmel, a born-and-bred New Yorker who questions whether Bright is a psychopath himself.

## Trivia

* Bellamy Young and Tom Payne play mother and son, but are only 12 years apart.
* Tom Payne is 11 years older than his on-screen sister, Halston Sage.
* The exterior shots of the Claremont Psychiatric Hospital are actually the *Findlay Teller Apartments* in the Bronx.

**Development**

* On January 28, 2019, Fox had given the production a pilot order. The Pilot was written by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver who executive produces alongside with *Lee Toland Krieger*, *Greg Berlanti* and *Sarah Schechter*.
* Production companies involved with the pilot include *Berlanti Production* and *Warner Bros. Television.*
* On March 12, 2019, it was announced that *Lee Toland Krieger* would be directing the series.
* On May 9, 2019 production had been given a series order.
* A next day, it was announced it would premiere in the fall of 2019 on Mondays at 9:00 P.M.
* The series has it's debut on September 23, 2019.
* October 7, 2019, the series was picked up for a full season of 22 episodes.
* In March 2020, Warner Bros. Television shut down production due to the *COVID-19* pandemic.
* April 2020, it was revealed that episode 20 would be the season one finale.

**Casting**

* February 2019, it was announced that Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau and Frank Harts had been cast in the Pilot as lead roles.
* By March 2019, Michael Sheen, Bellamy Young, *Finn Jones*, Keiko Agena and Halston Sage had joined the cast.
* March 12, it was announced that Tom Payne would replace Jones in the role during first table readings.

## Cast

* Tom Payne as Malcolm Bright
* Michael Sheen as Dr. Martin Whitly
* Bellamy Young as Jessica Whitly
* Lou Diamond Phillips as Gil Arroyo
* Halston Sage as Ainsley Whitly
* Aurora Perrineau as Dani Powell
* Frank Harts as JT Tarmel
* Keiko Agena as Dr. Edrisa Tanaka
* Kasjan Wilson as Young Malcolm
* Molly Griggs as Eve Blanchard
* Esau Pritchett as Mr. David
* Charlayne Woodard as Dr. Gabrielle Le Deux
* Michael Raymond-James as Paul Lazar
* Dermot Mulroney as Nicholas Endicott
* James Cusati-Moyer as Nico Stavros
* Anna Eilinsfeld as Sophie Sanders
* Meagan Good as Colette Swanson
* Raymond Lee as Jin
* Hettienne Park as Leslie

## Crew

**Created by**

Chris Fedak

Sam Sklaver

Chris Fedak
Sam Sklaver
Lee Toland Krieger
Greg Berlanti
Sarah Schechter
Adam Kane
Greg Berlanti
Sarah Schechter
Lee Toland Krieger
Lisa Randolph - *(Co-Executive)*
Lilla Zuckerman - *(Co-Executive)*
Nora Zuckerman - *(Co-Executive)*
Jennifer Lence
Jason Sokoloff
Carl Ogawa - *(Co-Producer)*
Sarah Rath - *(Co-Producer)*
Katrin L. Goodson - *(Co-Producer)*
Wendy Calhoun - *(Consulting)*
Justin W. Lo - *(Consulting)*
Jeremy Carver - *(Consulting)*
Elizabeth Peterson - *(Supervisinger)*