Season 1:  When notorious serial killer Joe Carroll (Purefoy) escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy (Bacon), a psychologically scarred veteran who captured Carroll nine years earlier, after Carroll murdered 14 female students on a college campus where he taught literature. Knowing Carroll better than anyone and close with Carroll's ex-wife, Claire, Hardy works closely with an FBI team, which includes no-nonsense agent Jennifer Mason and sharp upstart Mike Weston, and soon discovers that Carroll was not only communicating with a network of killers in the outside world but has much more planned than just a prison escape - and there's no telling how many additional killers are out there.

As Hardy and the FBI team are challenged by the ever-growing web of murder around them, masterminded by the diabolical Carroll (who's writing a novel with Hardy as his protagonist), Hardy will not only get a second chance to capture Carroll, but another shot at redemption, as he's faced with not one but an entire cult of serial killers.

Season 2:  As unimaginable events surrounding escaped serial killer Joe Carroll's cult of murder continued to unfold throughout the first season: the kidnapping of Carroll's son by follower Emma; another prison escape by Carroll; and the plotted reunion of Carroll with his ex-wife, Claire, former FBI agent Ryan Hardy and his team uncovered the depth of Carroll's cult and the larger plan that Carroll had in store. Meanwhile, Hardy desperately raced to stop Carroll before his endgame reached its deadly conclusion. The explosive first season finale featured the face-off between Ryan and Carroll, ending in Carroll's ultimate demise and leaving Claire hanging on for her life. 

Heading into its intense, spellbinding second season, THE FOLLOWING catches up with Hardy, who has since withdrawn from consulting with the FBI. After several bizarre incidents, however, Ryan realizes that Carroll's bloody web of murder is not over.

Season 3:  Season 3 begins one year later: Joe Carroll is awaiting execution on Death Row, and Ryan Hardy has moved on. Turning the page hasn't been easy the off-the-books investigation that led to Joe's capture put Ryan and his team under fire. But Ryan has risen above the controversy, returning full-time to the FBI, alongside Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) and Ryan's niece, Max Hardy (Jessica Stroup); and finding a pure relationship with Gwen (Zuleikha Robinson). But his happiness is shattered when a new threat arises one that will tear open old wounds and expose the sins of the past forcing Ryan and his team to unravel a twisted web of violence before it destroys them all while leading them to face a terrifying truth: Joe Carroll was just the beginning.