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Cape Town - It’s been over 40 years since Richard Gere worked in television, but it’s been worth the wait. Here is a powerhouse in the new psycho-thriller, MotherFatherSon.
The gripping new political drama starts on BBC First (DStv 119) on Sunday 23 June. The series sees Richard starring as Max Finch opposite Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders), who plays his ex-wife, and Billy Howle (Dunkirk) as their volatile son, Caden.
But how do you bag Richard Gere?
MotherFatherSon is an explosive family saga full of drama, intrigue and suspense, and Richard was tempted back to the small screen by strength of the script. American Crime Story writer and MotherFatherSon creator Tom Rob Smith says: "Telling this story was always going to depend upon gathering an extraordinary cast", so much so that they were willing to take the almost unprecedented step of giving Richard the first six episodes to read before he agreed to join the show.
"The question I asked was: when has Richard Gere recently had the chance to do a big two-page monologue?" Tom told The Observer. Knowing the Hollywood star had worked in theatre early on but that he found the length of the runs too time-consuming (especially now that he’s a new father again), they cleverly pitched the role of Max as an opportunity for Richard to do "theatre, without having to do it in a theatre."
But when last was Richard on TV?
Well, unless you’re over 50, you probably don’t remember. He played the role of a small-time criminal in the Kojak episode Birthday Party, all the way back in 1976. But even then there was a glint of the star he was destined to be. Richard’s rise to mega-fame took off soon after with movies like Looking for Mr. Goodbar and American Gigolo, and he’s never looked back since. With a dream career that’s lit up the silver screen in blockbusters from An Officer and a Gentleman and Pretty Woman to Arbitrage and Chicago, we can thank our lucky stars that he’s back on the box. It’s a move he’s unlikely to make again, so don’t miss it.
So what can we expect from MotherFatherSon?
Gere’s character, Max, owns a massive media empire, in which his son, Caden, plays an important role as editor of The National newspaper. Max’s estranged wife, Kathryn, has no real role to play in the family and instead works at a homeless shelter. But it isn’t easy working for a multi-national conglomerate, and as the pressure builds on Caden, he starts to crack from the strain. The problem is, he knows things about his dad’s business that could ruin everything … if he chooses to share them.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
MotherFatherSon S1 starts on Sunday 23 June on BBC First (119) at 20:00
(Photos supplied: BBC)
