If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the likes of Big Little Lies and 13 Reasons Why, limited series sometimes refuse to stay limited, especially when they do very well and win lots of lovely awards.
To that end, we may be getting a second series of Patrick Melrose. The people behind last year’s heartbreaking Benedict Cumberbatch-starring series are currently “in talks” to bring the drama back to the small screen for another batch of episodes.
The first season, which was a successful project broadcast by Showtime and Sky Atlantic, consisted of five instalments adapted from the novels of Edward St Aubyn by David Nicholls, and covered Melrose’s horrific childhood and tumultuous adult years glutted with addiction and shame.
Deadline says that even though the series has already used up a lot of the material from the books, Cumbers and the Melrose producers are now examining the possibility of extending the story, which has also been confirmed by the show’s producers, Rachael Horovitz and Michael Jackson.
“Our collective passion for Teddy’s novels and the joyful experience of making this series with SunnyMarch, Edward Berger and David Nicholls has naturally led us all to discussions of what we could do in the future,” the pair said in a statement. “Ideas have ranged from a leap forward in Patrick’s life to a series covering his ‘lost years’ in New York. Teddy St Aubyn will be the one to decide and we look forward to his inspiration.”
The site reminds us that Cumbers had been warming to the idea of a second season of Patrick Melrose very recently, after scoring a BAFTA for his performance:
“[Patrick Melrose] was condensed brilliantly on both sides of the book and the screenplay, an incredible director, a fantastic producing team, and a family of [heads of department] and cast that you really couldn’t repeat, although we’d like to.”
It’s unclear at this time whether other established members of the Patrick Melrose cast – like Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hugo Weaving, Anna Madeley, Blythe Danner, Allison Williams or Pip Torrens, to name a few – are likely to pop up in the potential second season, via flashbacks or other plot strands.
More to come if this presses ahead.
