From co-creators Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver, and executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, the Fox drama series Prodigal Son follows Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), the son of the notorious serial killer “The Surgeon,” who has dedicated himself to helping the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers. With a manipulative mother (Bellamy Young), a TV journalist sister (Halston Sage) and a homicidal father (Michael Sheen) interfering in every aspect of his life, it makes it challenging for him to ever take a break from murder and have a normal life.

The best part of the series is the rather unusual and twisted family dynamic, and Collider recently got on the phone to chat 1-on-1 with actress Halston Sage about what originally drew her to her character, what’s most surprised her about the journey Ainsley has taken, the fun in playing someone so ambitious, what success would look like for Ainsley, that she’s beginning to question her own path, how lucky she feels to be working with her co-stars, why Ainsley offers to dig into her brother’s romantic relationship and how what she finds will affect the family, finally getting some answers, and her hope that fans of the show will still get to see the season finale, even though their production had to get cut a bit short, due to the current state of the world.

Collider: Ainsley is a character where it was hard to know what to make of her, in the beginning. When this came your way, how much did you know about her and what were you told about what her arc would be? Did you know that she would be growing as much as she has?

HALSTON SAGE: I really fell in love with Ainsley, at the beginning of the season, just because you could tell that she was a very ambitious character, in all aspects of her life, and it left so many opportunities open to see where she could go. I was hopeful and, eventually, very grateful that the writers actually took her journey this direction. It’s been fun. Each week is a little bit of a surprise to us, too, seeing where the story goes. That makes it fun ‘cause we’re part of the audience experience, in that way.

It seems like all of these characters have a lot of layers to peel back, but your character, in particular, feels like she’s really grown the most, this season. She’s become a little bit more realistic about her father and her family legacy because she has a better picture of it now. What’s really most surprised you about the path that she’s gone on?

SAGE: At the beginning of the season, Ainsley started out as this very seemingly perfect, put together, New York journalist. She is the one in the family who seemed the least affected by her father’s history. No one who seems perfect really is perfect, underneath all of that. So, from the start, I was really looking forward to seeing how she could transition into learning more about her father and her family’s past, and how that actually might have affected her more than she even knows or realizes.

What would you say is the fun in playing someone who’s so ambitious, and what are the challenges that come with that?

SAGE: I know what it’s like to be very goal-oriented. I grew up an athlete, riding horses, so I’ve always had that athlete’s mentality of setting a goal and going after it. I could relate to Ainsley’s career path, in that way, and just how hungry she is to succeed, to bring a sense of pride to herself and her family that’s a distraction from what is normally talked about, when it comes to the Whitleys. The writers have done a really amazing job of bringing a lot of humanity to each of the characters. They aren’t perfect human beings. They’re dynamic and complex. Ainsley has shown that she might be a little more complicated than we all thought, at the beginning.

What do you think success looks like to her?

SAGE: Success means separating herself from this stigma of the Whitley family and making a name for herself, outside of being the serial killer’s daughter.

It seems like, at any point in time, you could turn on the TV and get some research done, for this character. Are there things that you personally enjoy about getting to explore and play the TV news reporter aspect of her?

SAGE: It’s true, and you’re absolutely right. I was and I still am, every day, especially now. I definitely watched a lot of reporting, and even journalist students’ reels on YouTube that they had posted, to see what it’s like when people are just learning how to report on the scene. Eve when it came to the interview with her father, it was really fun to watch a lot of Barbara Walters interviews. If you haven’t done that, especially with all the downtime right now, I recommend it because she was the best of the best at what she did and had a way of bringing out the most candid version of someone. It was fun to do that research, as a journalist on the show. It also gave me such a new respect for you guys because it is so hard. I, luckily, have writers writing my questions for me, but you don’t want to make the interviewee feel exposed, in a negative way. For one of the episodes, we moved into a newsroom that was a real functioning newsroom in New York City, that we filmed in, for a couple of weeks. It was a really amazing experience, just to see the control room. We had one of the actual production assistants from the newsroom set, on set with us that day, telling us how the cameras worked and moved, and where the anchors would be looking for which cues, and the ear pieces. It actually felt as real as it could get. It was very cool.

It’s easy to see that Malcolm is concerned that there could be some of his father in him, but how do you think being the daughter of a serial killer has shaped Ainsley? Is she concerned, at all, that some of her father is in her?

SAGE: I think especially in the next few episodes, you start to see a little more of that arc with Ainsley, and her questioning her past and questioning her own memories, and being less afraid to start remembering how living in the same house as a serial killer may or may not have affected her.

I love the family dynamic on this how because it’s such an odd family dynamic.

SAGE: That’s actually why I even really wanted to do the show, for this whole family dynamic, to be honest.

I would just be completely riveted, if this were just a series of family dinners.

SAGE: Would you mind calling our producers and telling them that.

What’s it been like to have this trio of actors, with Tom Payne, Bellamy Young and Michael Sheen, to play this very strange family dynamic with?

SAGE: I feel so lucky to be working with Bellamy and Michael and Tom. They are so amazing, and all such specific actors. They always bring so much to what’s on the page, and they always surprised me with their performances, in the best way possible. It keeps it exciting and fresh, and they elevate every scene.

The more that Ainsley gets to know their father, it seems that she can appreciate her brother, in a different way. What do you enjoy, specifically, about that dynamic between Ainsley and Malcolm?

SAGE: You’re asking the best questions because you’re on my wavelength, in terms of how I’ve been thinking about the show. Tom and I always talk about how we love the brother-sister dynamic between Ainsley and Malcolm. I have a brother, myself. I have a brother and a sister, so I know how that sibling relationship can be both fun and challenging, all at once. They’re the only two people that have gone through what their family has gone through, and can actually talk openly about it, in a way that would probably scare most people. I think they just feel grateful to be able to have that connection.

I enjoyed this next episode because we finally get some answers that we’ve been waiting for, especially with Ainsley offering to help her brother by investigating the woman that he’s dating, which only this family could get away with doing. How shocked do you think Ainsley is, by what she figures out, and how will that affect the rest of the family?

SAGE: Eve’s secret will have a huge impact on the remainder of the season. When Ainsley sets out on this investigation, to find out if her brother’s paranoia about this girl is valid, I don’t think that she’s hopeful that things are gonna turn out the way they do. I think she’s really seeing that her brother’s finally showing some normalcy and compassion in his life, with another person that we all thought was a very normal human being. There’s a lot of hope in that, so when Ainsley actually does uncover the truth, it’s heartbreaking for her. When your siblings are in pain, even emotional pain, it’s really hard to watch because you care about them so deeply. So, it’s a tough episode for Ainsley, and it will be interesting to see how it affects Malcolm’s actual relationship with Eve.

At the same time, she still can’t seem to help but turn it into a competition between herself and her brother. Is that something that she just can’t turn off?

SAGE: No, she can’t turn it off. It’s a part of her brain that’s always functioning, no matter what madness is going on, in the world.

After this episode, what would you tease, as far as what’s coming next, for fans of the show?

SAGE: You get to see a side of Ainsley’s past that we’ve never seen before, as she starts to question her own childhood memories and why she might be have seemingly felt less affected than Malcolm. She starts to wonder, if that’s actually the case. So, you’ll see her start to now investigate her own life a little bit more, the way she’s investigated her father, and now Eve. And you’ll start to see a good wrap up to some of these storylines that have been happening, which is exciting for everyone, including the cast.

Do you have a favorite episode that’s still to come, this season?

SAGE: Our production ended up getting cut off, a little bit short, because of what’s going on in the world right now, so everything’s a little up in the air, in terms of what’s going to actually come together, in the end. Our finale is pretty spectacular, and I hope people get to see it.

Do you think Ainsley is somebody who ever hangs out by herself and has a night in, in front of the TV? Does she have any girlfriends that she just hangs out with or has a spa day with? Is there any normal life for her?

SAGE: That’s a really good question. At this point, Ainsley is always tending to her mother and brother and making sure that they’re stable. You will see, in the last two episodes, that she really does have a separate life. You saw that she had a boyfriend, at the beginning of the season. I like to think of her as going home, at the end of the day, and turning on the news and having a large glass of wine.

Prodigal Son airs on Monday nights on Fox.