Prodigal Son, starring Tom Payne, premiered in 2019 and ran for two seasons, only to quickly gain popularity. Fox’s procedural drama serves up a pitch-dark, psychologically gripping mix of investigation, family trauma, and psychological terror, all against the unmistakable New York City backdrop.Prodigal Son is created by Chris Fedak and Sam Sklave and centers on Malcolm Bright, a brilliant yet deeply disturbed criminal profiler whose father, Dr. Martin Whitly, “The Surgeon”, is an imprisoned serial killer with more than two dozen victims. As a child, Malcolm helped the police catch his father, a life-saving act that tore his own psyche apart.Once a disgraced FBI agent, Malcolm soon begins consulting for the NYPD after his old department notified him of a series of murders inspired by his father's modus operandi. What made this show great wasn’t just its narrative and cast, but also the gritty locations that grounded its tone.Here’s a look back at the key filming locations that gave life to the Fox procedural drama.Where was Prodigal Son shot? Locations RevisitedThe primary filming location of Prodigal Son is New York City, New York, a decision that significantly contributed to the show's gritty realism. Instead of relying on other cities to stand in for New York, as many network dramas do, the series shot a considerable amount on real streets, in real buildings, and in real neighborhoods. This pursuit of realism is reflected in the show's atmosphere, from busy sidewalks and streets lined with brownstones to the cold, bureaucratic feel of its hospital and police stations.New York’s tight, urban landscape is a reflection of Malcolm Bright’s troubled mind as the location embodies the restrictive, unpredictable, and ever-spinning traits that are in themselves unsettling. The production made extensive use of real locations and less so on studio backlots, to the extent that the city seems to be an unspoken character the story is centered around.Another main location was Claremont Psychiatric Hospital, located in the Bronx, New York. Here, the terrifying Dr. Martin Whitly is locked up. Although the hospital is fictional, its exterior is very real. The location featured in these sequences is the Findlay Teller Apartments, situated on Findlay Plaza in the Bronx. The building’s stark architecture and institutional look are ideal for the threatening mood of Whitly’s captivity. These scenes appear frequently throughout the series, especially when Malcolm visits his father.A handful of sequences were shot in Manhattan. Some reports confirmed that the shoot had moved to SoHo's Spring Street and Mercer Street on October 16, 2019. These neighborhoods are particularly known for cobblestone streets and cast-iron buildings, and form the frequent backdrop for interrogation, chase, and transitional scenes.Exterior shots also often featured Manhattan locations, including crime scenes, walk-and-talks with the police, and Malcolm roaming through the city.Eventually, the production made its way to Astoria, Queens, another staple filming location for New York-centered TV. On October 28, 2019, the Prodigal Son crew was seen around Crescent Street and 34th Avenue.Where was Prodigal Son shot? (Image Via Fox)Many neighborhood scenes were set along Astoria’s quieter, more residential streets, serving as a contrast to the relentless pace of Manhattan. These sites also help ground the show, visually reinforcing the premise that violent crime and psychological darkness can inhabit even the most familiar, everyday locales.Another filming has been at East 67th Street & Park Avenue. These high-end Upper East Side addresses would almost certainly be exterior shots for elite medical, academic, or residential settings.Therefore, the juxtaposition of these sleek surroundings with the savagery of Whitly’s crimes highlights one of Prodigal Son’s fundamental ideas that evil doesn’t necessarily look monstrous on the surface.