The Walking Dead star Tom Payne has a new series headed to FOX under the title of Prodigal Son. The actor exited his Paul “Jesus” Rovia role on AMC’s zombie series in its most recent ninth season. He landed on his feet, quickly booking a new role on a show which has been officially ordered to series.
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“Prodigal Son is a fresh take on a crime franchise with a provocative and outrageous lead character and a darkly comedic tone, from Emmy Award-nominated executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter (Riverdale, The Flash) and writers Chris Fedak (Deception, Chuck) and Sam Sklaver (Deception, Bored to Death),” the show’ official synopsis reads. “The series stars Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) as the son of a convicted serial killer (Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Michael Sheen, (Masters of Sex, Frost/Nixon), who has made hunting murderers his life’s work. The series also stars Bellamy Young (Scandal), Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire, Stand and Deliver), Halston Sage (THE ORVILLE), Aurora Perrineau (The Carmichael Show), Frank Harts (The Path) and Keiko Agena (Dirty John).”
Payne’s Malcolm Bright is the best criminal psychologist around because murder is the family business. He uses his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes, while dealing with a somewhat manipulative mother, an annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son and his own constantly evolving neuroses.
In discussing his exit from The Walking Dead with ComicBook.com, Payne explained that leaving The Walking Dead was a mutual decision determined by both the actor and the creative team behind the scenes. He remains satisfied with his characters sendoff, although he wishes to have seen more from his role earlier in the series.
“All I care about is the story, and if the story is good, and they do it in the right way, then I don’t care,” Payne said. “And if I help to tell that story, in a cool, surprising, and shocking way, then I’m down with that, and I think they really did that with the exit. So I’m super happy actually. I loved my beginning on the show, and I loved my ending on the show. The middle was meh, but the end was really cool and I’m really, really happy with that. So, yeah, I think it was kind of a mutual thing.”
Payne’s Prodigal Son series does not yet have a release date.
