After nearly 30 years away from the small screen, Richard Gere is returning to television, starring alongside Helen McCrory in MotherFatherSon, a new 8-part original drama series from Tom Rob Smith (The Assassination Of Gianni Versace) for BBC Two.
Gere (Pretty Woman), McCrory (Peaky Blinders) and Billy Howle (On Chesil Beach) are the three leads in MotherFatherSon, making up, well, the mother, father and son (natch) of a broken, spiralling family unit in the new series.
Here’s a first trailer…
MotherFatherSon air date
The series is currently without an air date, but we’ll update you when we get one.
MotherFatherSon story
Here’s a synopsis from the Beeb:
Richard Gere will play Max, a charismatic self-made American businessman with media outlets in London and around the world. Helen McCrory will play Kathryn, a British heiress who has been estranged from Max following the breakdown of their marriage some years before. Their 30 year-old son, Caden (Billy Howle), runs Max’s UK newspaper and is primed to follow in his father’s footsteps as one of the most powerful men in the world.
But when Caden’s self-destructive lifestyle spirals out of control, the devastating consequences threaten the future of the family, its empire, and a country on the brink of change.
“It’s been almost 30 years since I worked in television,” Gere noted in a statement. “I’m so pleased to be working now with the BBC on this extraordinary 8 hour project with such talented people and which resonates so much to the time we live in.”
Helen McCrory added, “Tom Rob Smith has written the most astonishing script – completely original and full of surprises.”
“The scripts for MotherFatherSon seal Tom Rob Smith’s reputation as one of the most individual and original writers of his age,” chipped in Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. “We are thrilled that in Richard, Helen and Billy he has found the perfect eponymous lead characters to bring his series to life.”
Sarah Lancashire (Kiri, Happy Valley) is Angela Howard, “a brilliant businesswoman turned MP and Leader of the Opposition.” Sinead Cusack (Call The Midwife) and Paul Ready (The Terror) are Maggie and Nick, “two renegade journalists from the London-based newspaper which Max (Gere) owns.” Pippa Bennett-Warner (Sick Note) is Lauren, “a senior executive with the company and trusted adviser to Max”, Danny Sapani (Black Panther, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) plays Jahan Zakari, “the first ever Muslim Prime Minister of the United Kingdom” and finally Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones, Troy: Fall of a City) is Scott, “an enigmatic and damaged figure who Helen McCrory’s character Kathryn becomes entangled with.”
Big cast!