With the addition of Filthy Rich, Fox has ordered four new dramas to series as they set their schedule for next season. The announcements were made during their Upfront Presentation.
The orders include cop/serial killer drama Prodigal Son, starring Tom Payne and Michael Sheen; John Slattery’s AI drama neXt; police drama Deputy, headlined by Stephen Dorff; and the Annie Weisman/Jason Katims sister drama; based on an Australian format.
Fox’s sixth drama pilot, Tom Kapinos’ Lovestruck, is not going forward at the network. But the show, whose first season takes place over the course of a single night at a wedding, reportedly had tested well and has been well received within 20th Century Fox TV, which is expected to shop it elsewhere, similarly to its 2018 Fox pilot Mixtape, which was picked up by Netflix when Fox passed on it.
Prodigal Son is a fresh take on a crime franchise with a provocative and outrageous lead character and a darkly comedic tone. Malcolm Bright knows how killers think. Why? His father was one of the best, a notorious serial killer called “The Surgeon.” That’s why Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; 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. Prodigal Son passed one of the biggest tests for a pilot – recasting its lead, with Payne taking on the role from the already cast Finn Jones after the pilot read. The series co-stars Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips, Halston Sage, Aurora Perrineau, Frank Harts & Keiko Agena.
neXT is a propulsive, fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue artificial intelligence that combines pulse-pounding action with a layered examination of how technology is invading our lives and transforming us in ways we don’t yet understand. A Silicon Valley pioneer discovers that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. – might spell global catastrophe, and teams up with a cybercrime agent to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen – one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves. The series co-stars Fernanda Andrade, Michael Mosley, Jason Butler Harner, Eve Harlowe, Aaron Moten, Gerardo Celasco, Elizabeth Cappucino & Evan Whitten.
Deputy is a modern cop drama that blends the spirit of a classic Western with a modern-day attitude and gritty authenticity. When the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff dies, an arcane rule forged back in the Wild West thrusts the most unlikely man into the job: a fifth-generation lawman, more comfortable taking down bad guys than navigating a sea of politics. He leads a skilled team of ambitious and complicated human beings who won’t rest until justice is served. The drama has been praised for Dorff’s acting and the directing work of Bright helmer David Ayer. eOne secured Dorff in what might be the biggest talent deal so far this broadcast pilot season. Dorff will reportedly be paid north of $200,000 an episode. If the show goes to a second season, Dorff would become an executive producer. The series co-stars Yara Martinez, Brian Van Holt, Siena Goines, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Shane Paul McGhie & Mark Moses.
Lastly, the UNTITLED ANNIE WEISMAN AND JASON KATIMS DRAMA is a story of an unusual family formed through extreme odds, exploring such hot-button issues as identity, human connection and what it truly means to be a family. An only child finds her life turned upside down when her father reveals that, over the course of his prize-winning career as a pioneering fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive upwards of a hundred children, including two new sisters. As these three young women slowly embrace their new reality, they will attempt to form an untraditional bond as sisters, even as they must welcome a tidal wave of new siblings into their rapidly expanding family. Based on the original Endemol Shine Australia series, Sisters, from Jonathan Gavin and Imogen Banks. The series stars Brittany Snow, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Emily Osment, Mustafa Elzein, Mo McRae, Victoria Cartagena & Timothy Hutton.
