Showtime, Benedict Cumberbatch Team for New Series

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Showtime has greenlit a new limited series starring actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the network said Monday.

Cumberbatch will star and executive produce Melrose, a five-part limited series based on the Patrick Melrose series of semi-autobiographical novels written by Edward St. Aubyn. Cumberbatch plays an aristocratic and witty playboy who struggles to overcome the damage inflicted by a horribly abusive father and the mother who condoned the behavior, according to Showtime.

Michael Jackson and Rachael Horovitz (Moneyball, Grey Gardens) will serve as executive producers along with Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland.

"We are delighted to be part of this incredible series,” Cumberbatch and Ackland said in a release. “We have been huge fans of these books for many years and [scriptwriter] David Nicholls adaptations are extraordinary."

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.