‘Patrick Melrose’: Blythe Danner Joins Showtime Limited Series

Blythe Danner has been cast opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hugo Weaving in five-part limited series Patrick Melrose.

The project, a co-production of Showtime and Sky Atlantic, is based on the Patrick Melrose series of semi-autobiographical novels written by Edward St. Aubyn. David Nicholls (Far From the Madding Crowd) is penning the TV adaptation.

Melrose skewers the upper class as it tracks the protagonist’s harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood through adult substance abuse and, ultimately, toward recovery.

With each episode devoted to one of the five novels, the series will encompass the saga of Patrick Melrose’s (Cumberbatch) life, from his horribly abusive youth at the hands of his father (Weaving) and the mother who tacitly condones the behavior (Leigh), to the outrageous playboy he becomes and the struggles he endures to defy the damage of his own past.

Danner will play Nancy, the wealthy Park Avenue sister to Eleanor Melrose (Leigh). Cast also includes previously announced Anna Madeley and Allison Williams.

Danner won two Emmy awards for her role on Showtime’s Huff and was nominated for roles on Will & Grace, We Were the Mulvaneys and Back When We Were Grownups. She has also received a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in Butterflies Are Free. She most recently recurred as Nancy on Netflix’s Gypsy.

Patrick Melrose begins shooting in London and the South of France this month. Michael Jackson and Rachael Horovitz executive produce.