AceShowbiz -

Benedict Cumberbatch has landed a lead role on Showtime's new limited series. The "Doctor Strange" actor is tapped to lead "Melrose", a five-episode adaptation of Edward St. Aubyn's semi-autobiographical novels. He also serves as an executive producer.

The "Sherlock" star will play Patrick 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. One episode will focus on each novel in the series, focusing on specific days in Patrick's life.

Back in 2013 when he was asked if he could play any literary character ever, Cumberbatch said it would be Patrick Melrose. The limited series will be set against a dramatic sweep that encompasses the South of France in the 1960s, New York in the 1980s and Britain in the early 2000's.