Picture: Showtime
Netflix’s licensing spree will continue in May 2024, with the critically acclaimed Benedict Cumberbatch series Patrick Melrose set to arrive in the US on May 29th, 2024.
Based on the autobiographical novels by Edward St. Aubyn with David Nicholls writing and Edward Berger directing, the 5 part series was released over five weeks back in 2018.
With the upper class in its sights, the series takes place over 50 years from the 1960s through to the early 2000s, telling the story of Patrick Melrose’s attempts to try to overcome his addictions, which stem from childhood abuse.
Alongside Cumberbatch, the series stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as Eleanor Melrose, Hugo Weaving as David Melrose, Jessica Raine as Julia, and Pip Torrens as Nicholas Pratt.
As mentioned, the series received rave reviews, with The Guardian calling it a “brilliant portrayal of addiction” in its five-star review. Similarly, Verne Gay for Newsday praised Cumberbatch’s performance, concluding, “Brilliant performance by a great actor in a desperately grim story.”
The addition to Netflix will be welcome news, given that the show doesn’t currently have a streaming home, with it previously being on Showtime but removed in the last year or so. The natural home of it is undoubtedly Paramount+, but they’ve been eliminating content left and right over the past few years.
The Netflix addition only currently covers Netflix in the US.
This isn’t the only Showtime series to make its way onto Netflix, nor will it be the last. We recently learned that Your Honor, starring Bryan Cranston, is soon to be released on the service. We’re also hearing that Dexter, which recently returned to Netflix in international territories, may also make its way back onto Netflix US. Elsewhere, Yellowjackets arrived on Netflix in international territories earlier this year.
What’s particularly interesting about some of the licensed titles Netflix is getting as of late is how they tie into other Netflix projects. In this one, of course, Benedict Cumberbatch will be headlining another limited series for Netflix just a day afterward called Eric. There’s also another connection in the fact that Edward Berger has worked with Netflix on numerous projects including a couple of new ones in the works. We’ve also seen Boiling Point licensed by Netflix US, which makes sense, given Netflix is teaming up with the team behind that show for a new project.
For more on what’s coming to Netflix throughout May 2024, stay tuned to What’s on Netflix.
Are you looking forward to watching Patrick Melrose on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.