Richard Gere Confirmed For First Major Television Role In 30 Years
Richard Gere has been confirmed for his first major television role in 30 years in the series MotherFatherSon. The BBC Studios production is set to be an eight-part drama.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the series will also star Helen McCrory and Billy Howle and will be penned by The Assassination of Gianni Versace writer Tom Rob Smith. The Assassination of Gianni Versace was a runaway hit for FX in the early part of 2018. The series starred Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin, and Penelope Cruz.
Helen is a star of the television series Peaky Blinders and the Harry Potter series of films. Billy has starred in the films Witness for the Prosecution and On Chesil Beach.
“It’s been almost 30 years since I worked in television,” Richard Gere said in a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter.
“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 is the story of Max, a self-made American businessman with media outlets in London and around the world, according to THR. Helen will play Kathryn, a British heiress who has been estranged from Max following the breakdown of their marriage some years before. Billy will play the couple’s son Caden who runs Max’s U.K. newspaper and is ready to take his place as one of most powerful businessmen in the world.
The main storyline, which will play out over the series eight episodes, will depict what happens to the family when Caden’s self-destructive lifestyle spirals out of control. His actions will have devastating consequences that will threaten his family’s future and their carefully crafted empire.
James Kent (Testament of Youth) will be the series’ lead director.
The film’s writer Tom Smith remarked to THR, “Telling this story was always going to depend upon gathering an extraordinary cast. 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.
“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.”
Filming for MotherFatherSon will begin this summer in London and on location in Spain.
There is no official release date for the series at this time.
