Patrick Somerville

Patrick Somerville
Somerville at Brooklyn Book Festival, 2011
Born (1979-04-14) April 14, 1979 (age 47)
Writing career
Genrenovel

Patrick Somerville (born April 14, 1979) is an American novelist and television writer living in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Career

Novels

Somerville graduated from Cornell University in 2005. He published his debut novel, The Cradle, in 2009 and his second novel This Bright River in 2012.

Television

In 2013, Somerville joined the writing staff of The Bridge, where he wrote two episodes of the series. From 2015 to 2017, he was a writer on the HBO series The Leftovers. In October 2016, it was announced that Somerville would write the Netflix series Maniac. In December 2017, he signed a deal to develop new TV and digital projects exclusively for Paramount Television (now Paramount Television Studios). In October 2019, it was announced that he would be the writer and showrunner for a 10 episode HBO Max miniseries Station Eleven. He was also the showrunner for the first season of the series Made for Love.

In April 2022, it was announced that Somerville and Emily St. John Mandel would adapt The Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility as two Station Eleven followup series for HBO Max. However, later that year the projects were shelved due to ongoing upheaval at HBO and parent company Warner Brothers.

Amid fears in late 2022 that Station Eleven might be dropped by HBO from its streaming platform, Somerville promised to "purchase one acre of land somewhere in the Mojave desert and just play it on loop, projected on a rock, forever," a viewing experience described by Mandel as "optimal."

In July 2025, it was announced that Somerville would serve as showrunner for the Wolfenstein adaptation for Amazon Prime Video.

Film

Somerville is set to write and produce an original script, Ursa Major, directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker for XYZ Films. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Xochitl Gomez are attached to star in the film.

Publications

Novels

  • The Cradle (2009)
  • This Bright River (2012)

Short story collections

  • Trouble: Stories (2006)
  • The Universe in Miniature in Miniature (2010)

Filmography

Year Title Credited as Notes
Creator Writer Producer
2013–2014 The Bridge No Yes No 4 episodes
2014 24: Live Another Day No Yes No 2 episodes
2015–2017 The Leftovers No Yes Yes As writer (4 episodes)
As co-producer (season 2)
As supervising producer (season 3)
2018 Maniac Yes Yes Executive Miniseries (10 episodes)
2021–2022 Made for Love Co-creator Yes Executive Co-created with Alissa Nutting, Dean Bakopoulos and Christina Lee
As writer (3 episodes)
2021–2022 Station Eleven Yes Yes Executive Miniseries (10 episodes)
2025 Predator: Badlands No Yes No Credited for "additional literary material (not on-screen)"
TBA Ursa Major No Yes Yes Pre-production

References

  1. ↑ "Novel Discussions". novel-discussions.blogspot.com.
  2. ↑ "Patrick Somerville | Book Cellar | Literary Events". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  3. ↑ "To Feather a Nest, a Wild Goose Chase". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  4. ↑ "This Bright River". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  5. ↑ "Patrick Somerville". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  6. ↑ "The Bridge, Ep. 1.10, "Old Friends" keeps the tension high, as more of Tate's plan is revealed". Sound On Sight. 2013-09-12. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  7. ↑ "The Bridge, Ep. 1.07: "Destino" continues tonal and stylistic growth, but can't stem murder-mystery fatigue". Sound On Sight. 2013-08-22. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
  8. ↑ Kachka, Boris. "How to End a TV Show: An Exclusive Look at the Making of The Leftovers Finale". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  9. ↑ "Netflix Emma Stone-Jonah Hill Series 'Maniac' From Cary Fukunaga Finds Writer". Deadline. October 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2017-12-08). "'Maniac' Creator Patrick Somerville Inks Overall Deal With Paramount TV, Will Shepherd 'Made for Love' TV Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "Mackenzie Davis & Himesh Patel To Star In 'Station Eleven' HBO Max Limited Series". Deadline. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  12. ↑ "HBO Max Programming Highlights Unveiled at WarnerMedia Day". October 29, 2019.
  13. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "'Station Eleven's Emily St. John Mandel & Patrick Somerville Team For 'The Glass Hotel' & 'Sea of Tranquility' Series Adaptations In Work At HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  14. ↑ Rankin, Seija (2026-09-23). "How a Shelved 'The Glass Hotel' Adaptation Helped Emily St. John Mandel Write Her New Novel". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-11-07.
  15. ↑ Kois, Dan (2022-12-17). "A Totally Normal Interview With Author Emily St. John Mandel". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2026-11-07.
  16. ↑ Otterson, Joe (July 25, 2025). "'Wolfenstein' TV Series in Development at Amazon From 'Fallout' Producer Kilter Films, Patrick Somerville (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  17. ↑ Roxborough, Scott. "'Doctor Strange' Breakout Xochitl Gomez, 'Birds of Prey' Star Mary Elizabeth Winstead Join 'Ursa Major' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  18. ↑ Peschel, Joseph. "Wacky humor weaves through two stories". stltoday.com.
  19. ↑ Henderson, Jane. "Troubled souls return home to remake lives". stltoday.com.
  20. ↑ "TROUBLE by Patrick Somerville - Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
  21. ↑ Peschel, Joseph (20 November 2010). "Somerville spins tales of the future and end" – via The Boston Globe.
  22. ↑ "Predator: Badlands". Writers Guild of America West. October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 19, 2025.