Benedict Cumberbatch drinks his way through trailer for Patrick Melrose

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Based upon the acclaimed series of novels by Edward St. Aubyn, Patrick Melrose stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character, an aristocratic and outrageously funny playboy, who struggles to overcome the damage inflicted by an abusive father and a mother who tacitly condoned the behaviour. Each episode of the five-part mini-series, a co-production between Showtime and Sky Atlantic, will cover one of St. Aubyn's five novels and chronicle a few complicated and intense days in Patrick’s life.

A true television saga, Melrose is both gripping and humorous, with a dramatic sweep that encompasses the South of France in the 1960s, debauched 1980s New York and sober Britain in the early 2000s. Melrose gleefully skewers the British upper class as it tracks the titular characters harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood, through adult substance abuse and ultimately, towards recovery and redemption.

Patrick Melrose also stars Hugo Weaving, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anna Madeley, Allison Williams, Blythe Danner, and will debut later this year.