Benedict Cumberbatch will star in and executive produce the Showtime limited series “Melrose,” TheWrap has learned.
Based on the acclaimed Patrick Melrose series of semi-autobiographical novels written by Edward St. Aubyn, Cumberbatch will play Melrose, an aristocratic and outrageously funny playboy who struggles to overcome the damage inflicted by a horribly abusive father and the mother who tacitly condoned the behavior.
BAFTA Award nominee David Nicholls is writing all five episodes of the television adaptation.The series is a co-production between Showtime and Sky Atlantic and will begin shooting in New York, London and the South of France in August.
Michael Jackson and Rachael Horovitz also serve as executive producers. Jackson, the former Channel Four and IAC executive, recently formed the drama banner Two Cities Television. “Melrose” will be the company’s first production. Along with Cumberbatch, Adam Ackland will executive produce for SunnyMarch.
Cumberbatch has been nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his role as Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock,” winning the honor in 2014.
He also received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations in 2015 for “The Imitation Game.” Cumberbatch’s other top roles include “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and “Doctor Strange.”