Salon by Melanie McFarland

To be honest, it’s also not the easiest viewing experience, especially if you lack awareness of the depths to which Cumberbatch and St. Aubyn push Patrick. Watching Cumberbatch race through so many character shades proves dizzying in that first hour. But in return, subsequent episodes allow the viewer to appreciate his periods of steadiness and calm. ... Nicholls makes optimal use of St. Aubyn’s silvery language throughout the script. Edward Berger’s direction and James Friend’s cinematography ensure the visual experience speaks as loudly and purposefully as the people in Patrick’s world.

The Atlantic by Sophie Gilbert

The miniseries is an achievement on two fronts. For one thing, it’s the most remarkably faithful adaptation of a series of books in recent memory, capturing the tone and the aesthetic of the Melrose novels without sacrificing cohesion. But Patrick Melrose is also darkly entertaining, veering between young Patrick’s anguish and older Patrick’s episodes of situational comedy without diminishing either.

Collider by Allison Keene

Every vignette of upperclass life that revolves around Patrick’s journey is just as worthy of exploration as his own, and as the series delightfully (and sometimes devastatingly) dips in and out of their lives, it’s a privilege to be on the ride.

Uncle Barky by Ed Bark

Patrick Melrose is stamped throughout by Cumberbatch’s alternately furious and touching performance. But it takes a real despot to fuel his fires and shame, and Weaving is thoroughly up to commanding that role. Leigh likewise is a standout as Patrick’s cowed mother. ... Showtime in the end has a unique viewing experience, with some wit also in play amid the terrible consequences of being raised in a living hell.

Wall Street Journal by John Anderson

Elegantly appalling. ... It’s Mr. Cumberbatch’s show, and he brings enormous intelligence, vulnerability and acerbic wit to Patrick. ... Mr. Cumberbatch is exceedingly fun to watch. And there’s a seductive allure to bad behavior. But Patrick Melrose also operates like a conflicted mind, camouflaging the awful with the beautiful.

Time by Daniel D'Addario

Remarkable, decades-traversing new miniseries ... [Patrick Melrose] is a soulful, careening tale told with both novelistic sweep and deeply personal emotion.

Boston Globe by Matthew Gilbert

Adapted by David Nicholls and directed by Edward Berger, it’s a loose grouping of story fragments that sit together beautifully, as they jump back and forth in time. The acting, too, helps to make Patrick Melrose more than a relentlessly bad trip. Cumberbatch is all in on his performance, and it’s riveting--definitely some of his finest work to date.

Cleveland Plain Dealer by Mark Dawidziak

The brilliantly dark five-part limited series starring Benedict Cumberbatch is a compelling journey laced with pain and overflowing with absolutely riveting performances.

Variety by Jacqueline Cutler

Even as a heroin addict, Benedict Cumberbatch is riveting. ... With only the first two episodes available, and those being so different in tone and view--the second one harkens more to the nasty familial tensions and vicious verbal gymnastics of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”--it’s folly to guess how the others will unfold. Yet the pair deliver a solid promise that we are in for something very special.

The Hollywood Reporter by Tim Goodman

Two of five episodes is not ideal to judge where the miniseries ends up, but there's absolutely no denying that the writing, directing and especially Cumberbatch will make you want to return each week. For such a bleak story, that's quite an achievement.