Crime drama Prodigal Son was cancelled by Fox just over nine months ago, and at the time, it seemed like there was a chance that it could be rescued by a streaming service or other platform. That wasn't the case, and some members of the cast have moved on, but fans aren't all ready to give up on a Season 3 with a petition to save the show. And that petition is approaching a major goal!
The petition, “Save Prodigal Son” on change.org, was started even before news broke of the show’s cancellation in 2021. While the description points out that “ratings have not been great,” devoted viewers were still tuning in every week to see what insane storylines would be doing down. Even though the cancellation happened way back in May 2021, the petition is still getting signatures, and is less than 9,000 away from reaching the goal of 75,000 signatures at the time of writing.
Shows have been saved before after cancellation, so a Prodigal Son return wouldn't be unprecedented. Fellow Fox series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Lucifer were saved by NBC and Netflix, respectively, and proved to be powerhouses on both platforms. NBC properties Manifest and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, meanwhile, were saved by Netflix and Roku just last year. Fans' efforts are sometimes rewarded in big ways, and with “Prodigies” still holding on, it’s truly a testament to their dedication.
Prodigal Son was cancelled by Fox just before the second season-turned-series finale aired. It left on a cliffhanger that involved Tom Payne’s Malcolm stabbing his serial killer father Martin, played by Michael Sheen. Recently, Lou Diamond Phillips, who portrayed Lieutenant Gil Arroyo, spoke out about the show’s cancellation, revealing that the network opted for a cliffhanger in the finale and called Fox’s decision a “mistake.”
Since the cancellation, fans have not quit with their campaign to save their beloved show. Besides the petition, fans are still tweeting the hashtag #SaveProdigalSon on Twitter, and even hosted daily watch parties to get more people involved. At this point, it’s hard to tell whether or not any platform will pick up the series considering how much time has passed since the cancellation with no forward momentum on a rescue, but fans haven't given up.
Meanwhile, as fans are sticking to the campaign, some stars are turning to different projects. Halston Sage, who portrayed the thought-to-be-sane Ainsley Whitly, is starring in and executive producing the upcoming film The List; Detective Dani Powell herself, Aurora Perrineau, will appear in the fourth season of Westworld; Frank Harts, known as JT Tarmel, has two upcoming films with Rustin and Maybe There’s a Tree; Scandal’s Bellamy Young, who played Jessica Whitly, is currently starring on new ABC drama Promised Land; and Michael Sheen is starring in a second season of Amazon Prime's Good Omens opposite David Tennant.
As a fan of Prodigal Son who was there for all the twists and turns as they were airing, I would love nothing more than another season of this insane series. Hopefully someday we’ll get some resolution to that cliffhanger and get even more of the series, but in the meantime, sign that petition, because you never know what may happen!
Both seasons of Prodigal Son are currently streaming on HBO Max. Be sure to check out the best shows to stream on HBO Max after watching Prodigal Son!
