''Patrick Melrose'' is a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

starring

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

in the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

. The show is based on a series of semi-autobiographical novels by

Edward St Aubyn Edward St Aubyn (born 1960) is an English author and journalist. He is the author of ten novels, including notably the semi-autobiographical ''Patrick Melrose'' novels. In 2006, ''Mother's Milk'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Early life ...

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

as Patrick Melrose ** Sebastian Maltz as young Patrick Melrose *

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She re ...

as Eleanor Melrose *

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

as David Melrose * Jessica Raine as Julia *

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly TorrensThe Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 July 1998, University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 793 (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netfl ...

as Nicholas Pratt *

Prasanna Puwanarajah Prasanna Puwanarajah (; born 1981) is a British actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor. Early life and education Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Tamil Sri Lankan parents from Sri Lanka, his mother a p ...

as Johnny Hall *

Holliday Grainger Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series '' Roger and the Rottentrolls'', Lu ...

as Bridget Watson Scott *

Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She is known for her television roles, such as playing Niobe in the BBC and HBO series ''R ...

as Anne Moore *

Anna Madeley Anna Madeley (born 8 March 1977) is an English actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has appeared in three off-West End productions. She has starred in productions on each of the main British television ...

as Mary Melrose *

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Dra ...

as Nancy *

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is a British actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' film series, '' Calendar Girls'' (2003), '' Nanny McPhee'' (2005), '' The Best Exotic Marigold ...

as Kettle *

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter is an English actress. She has received an Olivier Award and nominations for a Tony Award, five Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, Walter was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British E ...

as Princess Margaret * Allison Williams as Marianne *

Morfydd Clark Morfydd Clark (; born 17 March 1989) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for playing Galadriel in the Amazon Prime series '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' (2022–present). She received a number of accolades for her performance in ...

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

’s Patrick Melrose book series, that would air on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

in the United States and

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

in the United Kingdom. David Nicholls wrote the five episodes of the series, with

Edward Berger Edward Berger (; born 1970) is a Swiss nationality , Swiss and Austrian nationality law, Austrian director and screenwriter. He is known for his work in Germany, where he was born and grew up, such as the German films ''Jack (2014 film), Jack'' ...

directing. In July,

and

joined as Patrick’s mother and father, and

was cast as Patrick’s wife. Allison Williams and

joined in August 2017, with filming begun by October in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Release

The first trailer debuted in April 2018, and the series premiered on May 12 on

. The series consecutively streamed new episodes on

CraveTV Crave (originally CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily against American-bas ...

in Canada. It was shown on

in the UK, and Sky Vision handled international sales of the series.

Episodes

Reception

Critical response

The series currently has a 90% score on review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 69 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Patrick Melrose'' is a scathing indictment of British high society's inherited dysfunction, cruelty, and the wealth that enables them. ''The Crown'' this ain't."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted average, gave the film a score of 80 out of 100 based on 32 critics. In 2019, the series was ranked 51st on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.

US ratings

Accolades

References

External links

* * * * {{Sky Atlantic 2010s American drama television miniseries 2010s British television miniseries 2018 American television series debuts 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings Television shows about alcohol abuse Child abuse in fiction American English-language television shows Television shows about incest Television shows about rape Showtime (TV network) original programming Sky Atlantic original programming Television series by STV Studios Television shows based on British novels Television shows set in New York City Works about addiction