Michael Sheen to play charming serial killer dad in new Greg Berlanti pilot

By Sam Barsanti | March 5, 2019 | 9:15pm

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It’s been a while since TV had a new procedural drama about a charming serial killer who helps capture other serial killers, and Fox is looking to right that wrong with some help from super-producer Greg Berlanti. As reported by Variety, Fox is moving forward with a pilot for Prodigal Son, a new drama series from Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver about a criminal psychologist named Michael Bright who has the uncanny ability to know “how killers think” because his father was an infamous serial killer called “The Surgeon.” Now, with the help of his “manipulative mother” and “annoyingly normal sister,” Malcolm Bright will work with his murderer father to help the NYPD solve crimes. We’d say it’s a wonder that a premise like that hasn’t been used for a TV show already, but it absolutely has.

Anyway, Michael Sheen will be starring as the serial killer dad, with Variety saying that he was once a “devoted family man and successful cardiothoracic surgeon with high-profile patients” until he decided to murder 20 people. Anyone want to put money down on whether or not Sheen’s 20 victims were actually bad guys who deserved to die? Because that seems pretty likely. Prodigal Son’s pilot will also feature Lou Diamond Phillips, Aurora Perrineau, and Frank Harts.