Prodigal Son Canceled by Fox After Two Seasons

Fox is ready to say goodbye to Prodigal Son. The crime drama has been canceled after two seasons. Prodigal Son was one of the lowest-rated series on Fox this season, averaging 0.41 and dropping nearly 50% from its first season. This is the second-worst year-to-year trend of any Big 4 series, behind only Bless the Harts, which Fox also canceled after two seasons. The show remained popular in delayed viewing and on streaming, and was one of the few shows on the network to actually be co-owned by Fox, which was left with very few in-house shows after 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney in 2019. However, its weak first-run ratings and high hosts were too much to jutify keeping it around. It'll end its two season, thirty-three episode run on May 18. Tom Payne, Michael Sheen, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bellamy Young, Halston Sage, Aurora Perrineau, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Keiko Agena starred in the series. This is a correct prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.

TVRG’s Best and Worst of 2020 -- The Freshman Scripted Series You’re Not Watching

FOX pulled the rug out from underneath its fans in 2018 and shifted its priorities to dramas and unscripted series, and soaring into 1st Place this year was its coveted prize.  Along with this resurgence came tougher competition for its new series, which FOX seems heavily vested in developing.  Prodigal Son debuted on Mondays in the plum timeslot following 9-1-1's tsunami arc, and at the least has delivered 60-percent of its lead-in with ratings ranging from 0.7-1.0.  Solid indeed for 2020, but that is also bolstered and stacked against 9-1-1's 1.2-1.7 episode deliveries.

FOX went big at the risk of going broke with its pilots, choosing controversial choices such as Almost Family as well as Prodigal Son's icky concept of the son of a serial killer solving cases.  While less controversial than Almost Family, Prodigal Son pushes the envelope with violence, demonstrated when the lead Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) chopped off a victim's arm in the pilot to save him from an explosion.  Where Prodigal Son moves past its controversies is its sympathetic lead Malcolm, a mentally fractured man scarred at his serial killer father Dr. Martin Whitly's (Michael Sheen) hands.  Now incarcerated, the sociopathic doctor manipulates and worms his way into his son's life by offering insight to help him solve current murders he is investigating.  The cast is appealing, and the chemistry is impeccable along with plot pacing.  The only element missing is stronger ratings.

Payne's performance is worthy of notice as he delivers sympathetic qualities to Malcolm while undermining it with his mental sabotage from the traumas.  It is unclear where FOX plans on scheduling Prodigal Son in the next season as it appears 9-1-1: Lonestar makes an ultra-compatible fit with its parent series.  Part of the appeal and charm of Prodigal Son being scheduled on Mondays was it made two sympathetic, flawed leads carrying procedurals as ABC has housed The Good Doctor with Freddie Highmore offering a similar performance.  Let's hope FOX offers Prodigal Son a decent timeslot so it can continue to develop.  But if The Resident was offered a renewal, perhaps Prodigal Son will continue to be developed by FOX and viewers may enjoy season 3.

Prodigal Son Renewed for Season Two

Fox's Prodigal Son will be back for another season on the network. The show drew decent, if underwhelming, ratings in its post-911 timeslot and rated as the #3 new scripted show on broadcast TV this season, behind 9-1-1: Lone Star and Bless The Harts. Its 0.75 average made it Fox's #6 scripted show this season as well. Its 1.0 premiere was the top fall premiere for a new series and made it one of the more likely new shows to be renewed from the start of the season. The crime drama stars Tom Payne, Michael Sheen, Halston Sage, Bellamy Young, Keiko Agena and Lou Diamond Phillips. This is a correct prediction for The TV Ratings Guide.

FOX Renew/Cancel: The FOX Drama Bubble Race Continues, Almost Family Effectively Canceled

It's a new year for FOX Renew/Cancel, and we have new predictions. A lot has changed since the last installment. Here are this week's predictions. 

Show	Prediction
9-1-1	Certain Renewal
Bob’s Burgers	Certain Renewal
Family Guy	Certain Renewal
Last Man Standing	Likely Renewal
Deputy	Leans Renewal
Prodigal Son	Leans Renewal
The Resident	Leans Renewal
The Moodys	Likely Cancelation
Almost Family	Effectively Canceled
Bless the Harts	Renewed
The Simpsons	Renewed
Empire	Final Season

Last Man Standing: The first two episodes of Last Man Standing premiered at a 1.0, then the next two episodes dropped to a 0.8. Last Man Standing still rakes in as one of the top rated comedies on Fox. As long as it remains steady in the 0.8 range, it should get renewed. Although it's not as certain given that it's now an unowned show. Nonetheless, Last Man Standing fans shouldn't worry too much about the show for now. Last Man Standing is likely to be renewed.

Now for the drama situation with Deputy, Prodigal Son, and The Resident. Deputy joined the 0.7 club along with Prodigal Son and The Resident. All three shows lean renewal at the moment, because ratings are so close between the three shows and they are at the FOX scripted median.

The Moodys: So much for the miniseries designation. A FOX press release had The Moodys waiting for a renewal decision. First of all, that's not likely happening. Second of all, ratings were terrible. The Moodys didn't do any better than the later episodes of Almost Family. The Moodys is likely to be canceled, although I would have had it as a certain cancelation if I were more ruthless.

Almost Family: Speaking of Almost Family, the FOX press release states that Almost Family and Flirty Dancing are pulled from the Wednesday night schedule effective January 22. This means that Almost Family is now effectively canceled. Go figure. The FOX Renew/Cancel chart adds the "effectively canceled" designation in light of the news, instead of just plain "canceled".

What do you think about this week's predictions? Sound off in the comments below!

FOX Renew/Cancel: For The Resident and Prodigal Son, Things Are Less Certain

FOX has not had a Renew/Cancel update in quite a while. But there are plenty to say today. Here are this week's predictions.

Show	Prediction
9-1-1	Certain Renewal
Bob’s Burgers	Certain Renewal
Family Guy	Certain Renewal
Prodigal Son	Leans Renewal
The Resident	Leans Cancelation
Almost Family	Certain Cancelation
Bless the Harts	Renewed
The Simpsons	Renewed
The Moodys	Miniseries
Empire	Final Season

Prodigal Son: Things have cooled down quite a bit for the highest rated rookie drama on the FOX lineup. Currently holding steady at a 0.7, Prodigal Son has things going for it. However, it's only partially owned by FOX, with the other 50% being produced by Warner Bros. That may work against it, if the other rookies such as 9-1-1: Lone Star, Deputy, neXt, and Filthy Rich do better. But for now, Prodigal Son leans renewal. It's the only rookie with a full season order going for it.

The Resident: Being fully produced by Disney is going to work against it, but cancelation is becoming less likely for it than it once was. The only reason why I don't think The Resident is as certain of a cancelation as many New FOX pessimists may think is because it is in season 3. I think The Resident may end up like Lucifer which you may recall ended up on Netflix after FOX canceled it after three seasons. While I am leaning towards The Resident not getting another season on FOX, fans should have some hope for a possible Hulu run in the future.

And as noted on the table, The Moodys is a miniseries. No prediction will be coming for it. It's not coming back for another season no matter the ratings.

What do you think about this week's predictions? Let us know in the comments below!