10 Best New TV Characters Of 2018 (So Far)

Protagonists are usually straight-forward characters with a clear desire and a plan to fulfil it, but not Patrick Melrose. The eponymous character from the Sky Atlantic/Showtime drama is as complex as they come, and Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a career-defining performance.

The five-part series is hard to describe, because its neither comedy nor drama, but falls somewhere in between. The inability to determine to the tone of the show is largely down to Patrick, who's a heroin addict, trying desperately to forget his troubled past by not only using drugs, but by deflecting people's questions with his own twisted sense of humour. His eccentric behaviour is unlike anything we've seen before, and Cumberbatch's multilayered performance highlights Patrick's internal conflict beautifully. Additionally, Sebastian Maltz - who plays a young Patrick - is equally wonderful.

Television has seen some great characters this year, but none are as complex or conflicted as Patrick Melrose. He truly is a revelation.