Brendan Fraser Exits 'The Professionals' Ahead of Potential Season 2
In the midst of The CW's rebranding and the cutting of many scripted series, The Professionals has been looking for a new home. If the series continues, star Brendan Fraser won't be returning. According to an exclusive from TVLine, the Oscar winner, who portrayed billionaire futurist, Peter Swann, wasn't intended to return anyway in the second season. As co-creator Jeff Most said, they "adore Brendan and everything he brought to the first season."
"We developed the show with the intent of having each season be a new season-long mission, which encompasses protecting different individuals and companies, with a few new cast members," Most explained. "In addition to the core team, we also plan to return some of the supporting-lead characters who will appear in the new season storyline."
The Professionals aired its Season 1 finale in late 2022. Since then, Fraser has become both an Oscar and SAG winner thanks to his role in the critically acclaimed film The Whale. So, it makes sense that Fraser would very likely want to take on more film roles. It also sounds like Peter Swann's story was all wrapped up, anyway, so it was expected that he wasn't even going to appear in Season 2.
As of now, The Professionals doesn't have a new home, but they are actively searching. With many storylines still left to be told, hopefully, the series will be coming back in some way. Even though Fraser won't be coming back, star Tom Welling will still return as Vincent Corbo if there is another season. There's no telling when an announcement could be made on the series' definite future, but fans shouldn't be giving up hope just yet.
Fraser may not be returning to a potential Season 2 of The Professionals, but the beloved actor is staying plenty busy. Along with his continuing role as Cliff Steele/Robotman on Doom Patrol and Titans, he also starred in Killers of the Flower Moon this year and has multiple projects in development, including Brothers, Behind the Curtain of Night, and The Legend of William Tell. That, plus his other roles in his extensive filmography, of course including The Mummy, will keep fans plenty occupied, with or without The Professionals, since it's hard to tell if that show will be coming back for another season and if it does, what it would say about Peter's story.