Benedict Cumberbatch returns to television in the new Showtime miniseries Patrick Melrose, which is based off the novels by Edward St. Aubyn chronicling his childhood trauma, the substance abuse and its terrible results in adulthood.
In a tour de force role, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the titular character who struggles to overcome the damage inflicted by a horribly abusive father and the mother who tacitly condoned his behavior. This gripping and humorous saga encompasses the South of France in the 1960s, New York in the 1980s and Britain in the early 2000s.
In an interview with Variety, Benedict Cumberbatch commented that the show has been a “passion project of his.”
“These are some of the greatest moments of 21st century prose, and to be a part of dramatizing that is a real treat,” Cumberbatch said of the “Patrick Melrose” novels. “This is a hell of role, and a hell of a stretch for any actor, and a hell of an opportunity for me, and I just hope we’ve done the books justice, so we’ve done something that has the same following and integrity the books do.”
Each episode will be devoted to one of the five novels and xecutive producer Michael Jackson spoke about the “vision for this [miniseries] that each episode would have its own style, like a small movie.”
The series was written for television by BAFTA Award® nominee David Nicholls (Far from the Madding Crowd, One Day) and directed by celebrated film director Edward Berger (Deutchland 83, Jack). Executive produced by Michael Jackson and Oscar nominee and Emmy and Golden Globe® winning producer Rachael Horovitz (Moneyball, Grey Gardens). A co-production between SHOWTIME and Sky Atlantic.
The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Hugo Weaving (The Matrix trilogy), Anna Madeley (The Crown), Blythe Danner (Meet the Fockers), Allison Williams (Girls), Pip Torrens (The Crown), Jessica Raine (Call the Midwife), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster), Holliday Grainger (Bonnie & Clyde), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones) and Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Baby).
Patrick Melrose premieres Saturday, May 12th at 9pm ET/PT on Showtime.
