Lou Diamond Phillips Thinks Fox Cancelling 'Prodigal Son Was a Serious 'Mistake'

Lou Diamond Phillips thinks that cancelling Prodigal Son was a serious mistake on Fox’s part.

The 59-year-old actor starred as Gil Arroyo, who was the longtime mentor of Malcolm Bright, and was the arresting officer of his father, serial killer Martin Whitly.

Click inside to see what Lou shared…

In an interview with TVLine, Lou revealed that he was for certain that the procedural show would be back for a third season.

“One hundred percent, I thought it was the call to say, ‘Hey, buddy, we’re going back to work in July,’” he shared, after saying he remembers co-creator Chris Fedak on his cell phone at the end of season two. “I had every reason, as did the cast and crew, to believe that this was going to be the case.”

As most fans know, Prodigal Son did not return.

“Ultimately, when [Fox] approved a cliffhanger at the end of Season 2, I thought there was no question. You don’t do that if you’re going to pull the plug,” Lou added. “You say, ‘Hey, guys, wrap it up.’ You usually get an indication about which way things are going, so this came out of the blue like a thunderbolt. And literally, as they were closing the doors to the airplane, Chris said, ‘Bro, they cancelled us.’ And I was like, ‘You’re joking, right? You’re kidding.’ It was stunning.”

Lou went on, admitting he is still “stung” by the cancellation.

“I’m not denigrating any other shows, but there’s so much that’s run-of-the-mill and safe and middle-of-the-road on television,” he shared. “For Prodigal Son to be as unique and different and exciting [as it was], and to have that cast — I just really feel as if this was a mistake.”

Lou is currently starring in the network’s new series, The Cleaning Lady.