Prodigal Son came back last January with a brand new, albeit shorter season, with new characters like Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Dr. Vivian Capshaw and Alan Cumming’s Simon Hoxley, and a killer cliffhanger. Sadly however, it turned out to be the last one after being canceled by Fox.
While the show’s future is being decided, check out the screencaptures from the second and (for now) last season of Prodigal Son on our photo gallery:
In an interview to Deadline’s Contenders Television award-season event, Catherine Zeta-Jones revealed she joined Prodigal Son season 2 to play Dr. Vivian Capshaw because of her fellow Welsh Michael Sheen, who she had never worked with:
Ler mais“I’d seen the show, I loved the show. I watched it because of my hometown boy, literally from my hometown in Wales, which is this tiny little place in the middle of the map there, is Michael Sheen, who I’d been wanting to work with. So, that’s been in my bucket list and I went, ‘Huh, let me speak to the producers and see what they have in store.’ I’m always drawn toward the darker side of family kind of dysfunctional-ness if that’s a word. I think historically great drama comes out of family stories. You think of The Godfather, you think of The Sopranos on television, you think of, you know, Breaking Bad. I mean, something about the storyline of it being a family because we can relate to it. As dysfunctional as this particular family is, it’s still a family at the end of the day. There are some principles in there that we can all relate to.”
To celebrate the first time Dylan Thomas’s classic Under Milk Wood was read on May 14, 1953 in New York, Michael Sheen recorded a performance of “Do not go gentle into that good night” for National Theatre, which you can watch in the video below.
Under Milk Wood marks the reopening of the National Theatre after months closed due to the pandemic. Set to open on June 16, the production features Karl Johnson and Siân Phillips and is directed by Lindsey Turner. More information here.
Check out some screencaptures from the video:
Bad news for the Prodigies: Fox has decided not to renew Prodigal Son for a third season, which means the episode to be aired on Tuesday May 18 will be the last one on the American network.
According to Variety:
An insider with knowledge of the situation characterized the move to cancel the series as a difficult one, but went on to say that the show’s ratings did not justify a third season.
This could be the end of line for Martin “The Surgeon” Whitly, Malcolm Bright and co. on Fox, but the show can always be saved by another network. As reported by Deadline:
It is unclear yet whether producer Warner Bros. TV would be shopping the series elsewhere. Sibling streamer HBO Max, which has previous seasons of Prodigal Son, would be a logical destination for the serialized serial killer drama.
Here’s hoping Prodigal Son finds itself a new home soon!
Michael Sheen will be joining “Thank You Day” on July 4, an event to urge the people to say thank you to those who have helped them go through the pandemic. The campaign is being backed up by other big British names like Dame Judi Dench, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Andy Serkis.
In the promo video below, Michael thanked his daughter Lyra for keeping him and his partner Anna Lundberg “busy, entertained and sleep deprived” during lockdown.
Watch his full thank you video:
Visit the campaign website for further info.
The wait is almost over! The fourth season of There’s Something About Movies is set to premiere next Thursday, May 13, at 9pm GMT on Sky One. Michael Sheen and Jennifer Saunders will once again be facing each other as team captains, while Alan Carr hosts the show and Tom Allen joins Team Saunders. Guests are yet to be announced.
Check out the poster for the new TSAM season:
The nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards have been announced today (April 28). Michael Sheen recieved his third nomination in the BAFTA TV as the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant in Quiz. The three-part series also got a nod in the editing category. Check out the nominees below:
Supporting Actor
Kunal Nayyar – Criminal: UK – Idiotlamp Productions/Netflix
Malachi Kirby – Small Axe – Turbine Studios, Lammas Park/BBC One – WINNER
Michael Sheen – Quiz – Left Bank Pictures/ITV
Micheal Ward – Small Axe – Turbine Studios, Lammas Park/BBC One
Rupert Everett – Adult Material – Fifty Fathoms Productions/Channel 4
Tobias Menzies – The Crown – Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television/NetflixEditing – Fiction
Chris Dickens, Steve McQueen – Small Axe – Turbine Studios, Lammas Park/BBC One
Editing Team – I May Destroy You – Various Artists, FALKNA/BBC One – WINNERS
Nathan Nugent – Normal People (episode 5) – Element Pictures/BBC Three
Pia Di Ciaula – Quiz – Left Bank Pictures/ITV
The winners of the Television Craft Awards and the Virgin Media BAFTAs will be announced on Monday May 24 and Sunday June 6, respectively. This post will be updated once the winners are out.
Good luck to Michael Sheen and team Quiz!
The bursary named after him will help Welsh students go to Oxford University. Read more below:
Ler maisJesus College is pleased to announce the creation of a new bursary scheme that will provide much-needed financial support for Welsh undergraduate students. The Michael Sheen Bursary has been developed in collaboration with, and is generously supported by, eminent Welsh actor and activist Michael Sheen, and will support students from across Wales.
Recipients of the Michael Sheen Bursary will be means-tested, based primarily on household income criteria. Economic inequity is a known barrier to Welsh school students pursuing courses in leading universities, and a barrier that Jesus College, and the University more broadly, is working hard to overcome.
The Michael Sheen Bursary is an exciting, positive step forward for the College, which already delivers a wide range of access and outreach activities for young people in Wales. In 2020, the College (in partnership with St Catherine’s College and New College) took responsibility for delivering Access and Outreach programmes for the whole of Wales on behalf of the University of Oxford; a consortium called Oxford Cymru. The consortium has been working closely with the Welsh Government to expand its reach – especially in the largely rural and coastal communities of mid and North Wales which experience the greatest disparities in educational attainment.
The programme for this year’s edition of Hay Festival, to take place online from May 24 to June 6, has been announced today (April 20). Michael Sheen will be attenting a pre-recorded lecture with Professor Daniel G. Willians and Leanne Wood MS called “Who Speaks for Wales? Raymond Williams at 100” on May 30 at pm BST. More information below:
Michael Sheen, Professor Daniel G. Williams and Leanne Wood MS
Lunchtime Lecture Series 4: Who Speaks for Wales? Raymond Williams at 100
Join us online: Sunday 30 May 2021, 1pm – 1.50pm BST
Virtual venue: Llwyfan Cymru Digidol – Wales Digital StageActor and activist Michael Sheen will join the professor Professor Daniel G. Williams and Member of the Senedd Leanne Wood, to discuss the life, work, and continued relevance of Raymond Williams, as a new centenary edition of his collected writings on Wales are published. Michael Sheen says, “Who Speaks for Wales is a truly landmark publication. It has had a profound effect on me and on countless others. The new afterword to this expanded centenary edition shows how Raymond Williams’ thinking is as important and relevant today as it has ever been.” Williams noted that Welsh history testifies to a “quite extraordinary process of self-generation and regeneration, from what seemed impossible conditions.” This discussion, ranging from 1920s Pandy to wartime Paris, from Extinction Rebellion to Yes Cymru, will be conducted with his words in mind.
Click here to register for this event (event 46). If you need help, click here. Most events will be available for free replay for up to 24 hours after the start time of the event. After this they will be available in the Hay Festival’s online archive Hay Player.
The nominees of the Broadcast Awards 2021 have been announced today (April 15) and two productions starring Michael Sheen made it to the shortlist: Quiz recieved a nod as Best Drama Series, whilst Staged season one was nominated as Best Lockdown Programme – Entertainment, Comedy and Scripted. See the nominees below:
Best Drama Series or Serial
Des
I Hate Suzie
I May Destroy You – WINNER
Normal People
Quiz
The End of the F**king WorldBest Lockdown Programme – Entertainment, Comedy and Scripted
A League of Their Own
Home Alone with Joel Dommet
Isolation Stories
Staged
The Ragnanation – WINNER
Unsaid Stories
The winners will be announced on May 27 at a virtual ceremony. You can register here to watch it.
Good luck to everyone involved in both shows!