Richard Gere Confirmed for First Major TV Role in 'MotherFatherSon'

[Ulquiorra]

The BBC series comes from 'Assassination of Gianni Versace' writer Tom Rob Smith and will also star Helen McCrory and Billy Howle.


Richard Gere is officially confirmed for his first major TV role in MotherFatherSon.


The eight-part original drama, which is being made by BBC Studios Drama London for BBC Two, will also star Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders, Harry Potter) and Billy Howle (Witness for the Prosecution, On Chesil Beach) and was written and created by Tom Rob Smith, whose credits include Child 44, London Spy and FX's recent hit The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.


"It’s been almost 30 years since I worked in television," Gere said Tuesday in a statement. "I’m so pleased to be working now with the BBC on this extraordinary eight-hour project with such talented people and which resonates so much to the time we live in."


MotherFatherSon will see Gere play Max, a charismatic self-made American businessman with media outlets in London and around the world. 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 (Howle), runs Max’s U.K. 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.


James Kent, who helmed 2014's critically lauded Testament of Youth, has been confirmed as the series' lead director.


"Telling this story was always going to depend upon gathering an extraordinary cast," said Smith. "Richard Gere has starred in some of the most famous movies of all time. His roles are iconic and complex. He's joined by the remarkable Helen McCrory, showcasing heartbreaking emotional tenderness and immense power. And completing the central family is Billy Howle, one of the most exciting young actors I've ever had the privilege of watching perform. Under the brilliant direction of James Kent, the show promises to be something special for the BBC.”


The project was commissioned by Patrick Holland, channel controller of BBC Two. Sharon Bloom (Silent Witness, Rillington Place) and Lisa Osborne (Quirke, Little Dorrit) will produce, while executive producers include Hilary Salmon for BBC Studios, Elizabeth Kilgarriff for the BBC, Alan Poul (The Newsroom, Six Feet Under) and Smith.


MotherFatherSon will be distributed internationally by BBC Studios.


Filming will begin this summer in London and on location in Spain. Further casting will be announced .