A surprising crime thriller series finds new life on Netflix five years later to resurge as a streaming hit. Over the past few years, Netflix has become the home of some of the best thriller shows on streaming. One of those is Run Away, based on Harlan Coben’s book of the same name, which recently dethroned the Netflix original series Stranger Things.
Other Netflix crime thriller series, such as City of Shadows and Land of Sin, have also skyrocketed on the streamer over 2025 and 2026. However, Netflix’s successful run in the genre does not only come from originals, as licensed content has also found success on the platform. That is the case of Prodigal Son, a two-season series that is now a streaming hit.
According to FlixPatrol, Prodigal Son is currently the 10th most-watched TV show on Netflix in the United States. The TV series debuted in 2019, starring Tom Payne and Michael Sheen. Prodigal Son arrived on Netflix on January 9, 2026. The crime thriller series’ streaming hit status was confirmed just a few days later, entering the US charts on January 12.
Prodigal Son was originally released in 2019 on Fox. Season 1 averaged 5.83 million viewers, with the crime thriller series’ pilot episode being the show’s most-watched entry to date, at 7.35 million viewers. Prodigal Son season 2 saw a notable dip in viewership, with the sophomore season averaging 4.04 million viewers. 33 episodes of the show were released over two seasons.
On May 10, 2021, when there were still two episodes of Prodigal Son season 2 left to air, Fox cancelled the series. Prodigal Son has a mixed Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score, standing at 56%. However, the dark TV show boasts a positive audience score, with an impressive 86% from viewers. That undoubtedly connects to its newfound popularity on Netflix.
Related
5 Best Netflix Shows To Binge-Watch This Week (Jan 12–16, 2026)
Screen Rant’s TV experts have hand-selected the top 5 Netflix series to binge right now, all of which are 2026 Golden Globes winners and nominees.
Prodigal Son starred Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) as Malcolm Bright, a former FBI profiler who looks at murders through a different lens, that of the killer, being uniquely equipped to arrest murderers. The show focused on Malcolm’s work with the NYPD and his past. The latter haunts him in the form of his father, Michael Sheen’s Martin Whitly, a serial killer known as The Surgeon.
A fan campaign titled “#SaveProdigalSon” emerged when the procedural was cancelled. However, at this time, there has not been any movement in the five years since the show was taken off the air for it to come back. Perhaps Prodigal Son season 2 could be looked at again now that the crime thriller series is a Netflix hit.
Release Date
2019 – 2020
Showrunner
Chris Fedak
Directors
Chris Fedak
Writers
Chris Fedak
