Patrick Melrose is a 2018 five-part drama miniseries starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. The show is based on a series of semi-autobiographical novels by Edward St Aubyn.
Premise
Over five decades from the 1960s to the early 2000s, wealthy Englishman Patrick Melrose attempts to overcome his addictions and demons rooted in abuse by his cruel father and negligent mother.
Cast
Benedict Cumberbatch as Patrick Melrose
Sebastian Maltz as young Patrick Melrose
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Eleanor Melrose
Hugo Weaving as David Melrose
Jessica Raine as Julia
Pip Torrens as Nicholas Pratt
Prasanna Puwanarajah as Johnny Hall
Holliday Grainger as Bridget Watson Scott
Indira Varma as Anne Moore
Anna Madeley as Mary Melrose
Blythe Danner as Nancy
Celia Imrie as Kettle
Harriet Walter as Princess Margaret
Allison Williams as Marianne
Morfydd Clark as Debbie Hickman
Marcus Smith as Robert Melrose
Production
It was announced in February 2017 that Benedict Cumberbatch would star in and produce a television adaptation of Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose book series, that would air on Showtime in the United States and Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom. David Nicholls wrote the five episodes of the series, with Edward Berger directing. In July, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hugo Weaving joined as Patrick’s mother and father, and Anna Madeley was cast as Patrick’s wife. Allison Williams and Blythe Danner joined in August 2017, with filming begun by October in Glasgow.
Release
The first trailer debuted in April 2018, and the series premiered on May 12 on Showtime. The series consecutively streamed new episodes on CraveTV in Canada. It was shown on Sky Atlantic in the UK, and Sky Vision handled international sales of the series.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
The series was praised for Cumberbatch's performance. It currently has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 80/100 on Metacritic. In 2019, the series was ranked 51st on The Guardian newspaper's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.