Michael Sheen an Affable Serial Killer in PRODIGAL SON, Now on Blu-ray

The premise behind PRODIGAL SON is intriguing: an professional profiler, Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), is released from the FBI for taking dangerous risks. Upon his release, he's offered a position as a consultant for the NYPD Major Crimes division, under Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips), a man whose been a father figure to him since Malcolm was ten years old. Gil took on that role after Gil arrested Malcolm's father -- Dr. Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), also known as the notorious serial killer, The Surgeon.

A serial killer hunter raised by a serial killer is just the kind of twisted base that could support a constant fount of intrigue and suspense. And to a large degree, it does. On top of the weekly serial killer of the week structure, PRODIGAL SON provides an ongoing mystery, a repressed memory of Malcolm's that could lead to the discovery of a yet-to-be-discovered victim of The Surgeon.

Stirring up the family dynamic is the addition of Malcolm's sister, television news reporter Ainsley (Halston Sage), and his socialite mother, Jesica (BellamyYoung, CRIMINAL MINDS), who is desperate to live down the infamy of her husband. It's a reputation that follows Malcolm as well, as his new partners at the NYPD, Dani Powell (Aurora Perrineau) and JT Tarmel (Frank Harts) find him difficult to be around. In fact, the only person who enjoys being around Malcolm is the medical examiner, Dr. Edrisa Tanaka (Keiko Agena), who adulates him with an adorkable geekiness.

Malcolm's repressed memories bubble to the fore in the form of night terrors, and have for a while. They're so bad that he has to cuff himself to his bed when he sleeps so he doesn't throw himself out his window -- again. But these memories get stronger when Malcolm finds himself force to confront his father in his cell on a regular basis, to get consults on the thinking patterns of serial killers.

The first season closes with the introduction of a powerful and controlling villain who frames Malcolm for the murder of a hitman, who in turn had killed Malcolm's girlfriend, Eve (Molly Griggs). With Malcolm under house arrest and desperate to prove his innocence, the tension builds until the audience learns that, when the pressure's on, the apple may not fall far from the serial killer tree.