History Series / ProdigalSon

** The Junkyard Killer, a protege of Martin's, becomes a recurring antagonist later in the season. His MO is targeting people he feels are sinners, abducting and torturing them before killing them; the majority are crushed in a car compacter in junkyard (hence the name), though he changes the methods of execution once his kill grounds are discovered.

* WhamLine: The end of “Q&A” when Malcolm receives a call from [[spoiler: the junk yard serial killer who knows Dr. Whitley. He says “it was one hell of a camping trip”, showing that he is connected to the mysterious trip Malcolm cannot remember]].

* WhamLine: The end of “Q&A” when Malcolm receives a call from [[spoiler: the junk yard serial killer who knows Dr. Whitley. He says “it was one hell of a camping trip”, showing that he is connected the mysterious trip Malcolm cannot remember]].

* WhamLine:
** The end of “Q&A” when Malcolm receives a call from [[spoiler: the junk yard serial killer who knows Dr. Whitley. He says “it was one hell of a camping trip”, showing that he is connected the mysterious trip Malcolm cannot remember]].

* EngineeredHeroics: In “Q&A”, [[spoiler: another inmate at Martin’s asylum stabs a guard and Ainsley’s boyfriend/cameraman, causing a lockdown while both Ainsley and Malcolm are visiting Martin. Martin uses his surgical skills to save Jim, which impresses Ainsley, but as Malcolm figures out by the episode’s end, Martin goaded the inmate into doing it in the first place during one of their group sessions.]]

* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: When Malcolm's drug trip goes bad in "The Trip" and he starts having a panic attack, Dani ultimately has to punch him and knock him out.

* ItsAllMyFault: It turns out that Jessica blames herself for Martin's killing spree because [[spoiler: she suspected he was up to something but never acted on it, because she thought he was just f=having an affair.]]

The series centers on Malcolm Bright, whose father, Dr. Martin Whitly, is the infamous {{serial killer}} known as "The Surgeon". Malcolm was the one responsible as a child for enabling the police to arrest his father, and has not (of his own volition) seen his father in 10 years.

* IntrepidReporter: Malcolm's sister, Ainsley, is a journalist who is always eager for a good story.

* SerialKiller: A general theme of the series:

** The end of "Pilot" suggests that Malcolm will keep seeing Dr. Martin despite his objections.

The series centers on Malcolm Bright, whose father, Dr. Martin Whitley, is the infamous {{serial killer}} known as "The Surgeon". Malcolm was the one responsible as a child for enabling the police to arrest his father, and has not (of his own volition) seen his father in 10 years.

Now a profiler, formerly with the FBI (until he was fired) and currently working with the New York City Police Department, Malcolm is forced to confront his father after a copycat serial killer uses Dr. Whitley's methods of killing, and now finds himself drawn back into constant contact with his father as he must both use Dr. Whitley's insights to help the police solve particularly horrible crimes and battle his own inner demons.

* DrivingQuestion: For Malcolm, it's what happened during the period of his childhood that he can't remember [[spoiler:, specifically the time between when he found an abducted girl in his father's kill room and when he made the call to the police turning him in. And as an addendum to this, he wants to know what happened to the girl, as the police never found her]].

* DrivingQuestion: For Malcolm, it's what happened during the period of his childhood that he can't remember, specifically the time between when he found an abducted girl in his father's kill room and when he made the call to the police turning him in. And as an addendum to this, he wants to know what happened to the girl, as the police never found her.

The series centers on Malcolm Bright, whose father, Dr. Martin Whitley, is the infamous {{serial killer}} known as "The Surgeon". Malcolm was the one responsible as a child for enabling the police to arrest his father, and has not (of his own volition) seen his father in ten years.

!!Tropes in this series

** Michael Sheen (Martin Whitley) is a mere thirteen years older than Tom Payne, who's playing his son Malcolm Bright. It isn't very noticeable though, since Sheen is made to look older and Payne appears youthful enough to be around a decade younger than his true age.

** Dani and JT are initially upset with Gil for withholding the fact that he had them working with the Surgeon's son, though they seem to come around when Gil reveals how Malcolm turned in his father.

The series centers on Malcolm Bright, whose father, Dr. Martin Whitley, is the infamous {{serial killer}} known as "The Surgeon". Malcolm was the one responsible as a child for enabling the police to arrest his father, and has not (of his own volition) seen his father in ten years. Now a profiler, formerly with the FBI (until he was fired) and currently working with the New York City Police Department, Malcolm is forced to confront his father after a copycat serial killer uses Dr. Whitley's methods of killing, and now finds himself drawn back into constant contact with his father as he must both use Dr. Whitley's insights to help the police solve particularly horrible crimes and battle his own inner demons.

* WhamEpisode:

** The end of "The Annihilator" has Jessica keep tabs on Malcolm secretly in case he could meet her husband. [[spoiler:A bribed orderly mentions to her that he's secretly meeting him in his cell.]]

* PlayingGertrude: Michael Sheen (Martin Whitley) is a mere thirteen years older than Tom Payne, who's playing his son Malcolm Bright. It isn't very noticeable though, since Sheen is made to look older and Payne appears youthful enough to be around a decade younger than his true age.
** The same goes for Bellamy Young, who plays Malcolm's Mother and is also only 13 years older than him. It's a more noticeable in her case, as she doesn't look old enough to have children in their 30s, unless she had them in her very early 20s or had a lot of plastic surgery.

* AccidentalMisnaming: Malcolm keeps calling JT "Jaime" by mistake.

* DeathSeeker: It's implied that Malcolm is this because of the trauma of being a serial killer's son.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Martin is a serial killer, but still clearly loves both his children and ex-wife.

* IAmNotMyFather: Malcolm's driving character trait is his desire to separate himself from his father's influence.

* InTheBlood: Everyone is worried that Malcolm has inherited his father's insanity, including Malcolm himself.

* JackTheRipoff: The antagonist of the pilot is a former patient of Martin's who became enamored of him and sought to emulate him by copying his kills.
* LeeroyJenkins: Malcolm has a nasty habit of running headfirst into danger.

* MurderSuicide: The killer in "Annihilator" tries to do this when the police track him down, poisoning [[spoiler: his wife and kids]] as well as himself. Thanks to Malcolm and Dani's intervention, he fails.
* MyBelovedSmother: Malcolm's mother, Jessica, is an overbearing socialite who keeps pressuring him to quit his law enforcement career and get married.

* SherlockScan: As a trained profiler, Malcolm is able to read people's body language to determine things about them.

** Dani and JT are initially upset with Gil for withholding the fact that he had them working with the Surgeon's son, though they seem to come around when Gil reveals how Malcolm turned in his father.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Edrisa is terrified of snakes. Which is unfortunate in "Annihilator", as the killer surgically implanted several live Black Mambas in one of his victims.

** Dani and JT are initially upset with Gil for withholding the fact that he had them working with the Surgeon's son, though they seem to come around when Gil reveals how Malcolm turned in his father.

* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: The series has the protagonist Malcolm Bright, a criminal profiler, with the twist that the killer is his ''father'', who he turned in to the police. His father doesn't appear to hold a grudge, and is just happy to see Malcolm again, while offering him insights. It's Malcolm who's reluctant, understandably.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Martin is a sociopath, but still clearly loves his son.

* LifeOrLimbDecision: In the pilot, Malcolm and JT find a victim of the copycat killer chained to a chair that has a bomb attached to it that's about to explode. With no time to get the victim free, Malcolm resorts to chopping his hand off with an ax so that they can slip him out of his restraints and get to safety (though he does stick the hand in a container of ice so it can be reattached).

** Malcolm's first present day scene has him helping the FBI catch a serial killer whose MO is apparently taking people to an abandoned slaughterhouse in the woods and butchering them there.