TWD’s Tom Payne Replaces Finn Jones In Fox’s Serial-Killer Pilot ‘Prodigal Son’
A few days ago we brought you the news Finn Jones would be starring opposite Michael Sheen in Fox’s serial-killer pilot ‘Prodigal Son’. Now it seems there has been a casting change, as Jones is replaced by ‘The Walking Dead’ star Tom Payne.
‘Prodigal Son’ centres on Malcolm Bright (Payne), a criminal psychologist who has the “gift” of knowing how serial-killers think. That’s because he has studied one up close – His own father (Sheen), known as the notorious serial killer “The Surgeon.” Bright uses talents 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.
The Payne-full (sorry) decision to switch Jones for Payne was apparently a creative one following a table read session with the cast. Replacing cast members on pilots is actually more common than you may think. Often, if the actor is well known, they can be offered the role without a full audition process, which seemed to be the case here. That means the table read can be the first time the production team get to see the entire cast working together, and it would appear that there were some “creative differences” with Jones’ portrayal of the character. Payne had previously tested for the part, so was brought in as a replacement.
Payne joins the previously announced cast of Michael Sheen, who plays Martin Whitly, aka “The Surgeon”; Lou Diamond Phillips (‘Longmire’, ‘Stargate Universe’) who stars as Gil, a tough, old-school, NYPD detective who brings Bright onto the force to help stop a copycat killer; Aurora Perrineau (‘Chasing Life’, ‘Into the Dark’) who plays Dani, a courageous and experienced NYPD detective and former addict who initially doesn’t trust Bright, but he grows on her; Frank Harts (‘The Path’, ‘Billions’) who portrays JT, another detective who finds Bright’s forensic profiler eccentricities a little baffling; Bellamy Young (‘Scandal’) who will play Malcolm’s manipulative mother; And Keiko Agena (‘Gilmore Girls’, ‘The First’) who star as Edrisa, a slightly off-centre coroner working with the NYPD detective team. She is thrilled by her work, and she is both smitten and fascinated with Bright.
‘Prodigal Son’ is written by Chris Fedak (‘Legends of Tomorrow’, ‘Deception’) and Sam Sklaver (‘Deception’) who exec produce with Greg Berlanti via Berlanti Productions. The drama is a co-production between WBTV and Fox. As it is only a pilot it may not go to series, but we’ll let you know if and when we hear more.
