Why a Patrick Melrose season 2 doesn’t seem likely at Showtime

Following tonight’s finale on Showtime, is there a chance that we see at Patrick Melrose season 2 Sunday? It is an understandable question to ask, mostly because we all love great entertainment and beyond that, who doesn’t love having Benedict Cumberbatch on a small screen?

In some ways, however, it is the mere presence of Cumberbatch that makes the second season of this show a little bit more unlikely. He is an extremely popular actor with a wide array of movie gigs coming up in the future, and those are going to hamper his ability to do other roles. As a matter of fact, we do not think he is the type of person who wants to be in a long-term deal with any particular series at the moment. Even when it comes to Sherlock, which is largely his claim to fame, there is no confirmation that he is ever going to come back to do a fifth season. While we may be optimistic for now, that doesn’t mean that anything will ever actually transpire with the BBC drama.

Beyond just Benedict’s busy schedule, there are some other issues that would come into play when it comes to making a Patrick Melrose season 2. The biggest one of course is going to be the source material itself. This is an adaptation, and with that there’s only so much material that is out there. The final episode of the show is meant to tie together the story. It is possible in theory you could find a way to continue the narrative, but the occasion in which a TV show outlives its source material is still reasonably rare. We know that it happened with The Handmaid’s Tale as well as The Letovers, but those are the exception more so than the rule.

Of course, the most glaring reason why Patrick Melrose season 2 probably will not happen is simply because Showtime billed this as a limited series from the start. It is hard for them to go back on that now when that was always their intention. Enjoy the finale for what it is, and then just move on to the next thing. With Benedict Cumberbatch, you know that there are always going to be some more exciting things around the bend.

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