I find it difficult to enjoy Benedict Cumberbatch in most cases. Even Sherlock is trying my patience these days. I sort of like when he tries something different, but that doesn’t happen very often.
Speaking of which, here is the trailer for a five-part series called Patrick Melrose, in which Cumberbatch plays Sherlock if he were a modern alcoholic:
If you’re still hanging in there, here’s an official synopsis:
Based on the acclaimed Patrick Melrose series of novels written by Edward St. Aubyn and adapted by BAFTA award nominee David Nicholls (Far From the Madding Crowd, One Day), 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. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Sherlock) plays Patrick Melrose, 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. 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 will devote an hour to each of the five novels, with each episode storytelling a few complicated and intense days in Patricks life.
Eek. Even with a supporting cast including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hugo Weaving, and Blythe Danner, this is a huge, diamond-hard pass. Sorry to be so negative this early in the morning.
But hey, if you’re into it, you can see Patrick Melrose on Sky Atlantic. In America, it’ll be on Showtime.