Benedict Cumberbatch Plays Grieving Father In ‘The Child In Time’ Trailer [WATCH]

Benedict Cumberbatch will play the lead role in BBC One’s upcoming drama, “The Child in Time.”

Ahead of its 2018 release, Masterpiece dropped a teaser for the drama that was adapted from Ian McEwan’s award-winning 1987 novel of the same title. “The Child in Time” centers on a successful children’s book author named Stephen Lewis (Cumberbatch), whose daughter suddenly goes missing.

“The Child in Time” is set two years after his daughter’s missing and will focus on his struggles to find purpose in his life without her, according to Deadline. The 43-second trailer opens with Stephen and his adorable daughter walking on the streets. They are also seen grocery shopping and playing with the carts. But while Stephen was paying for the items he purchased, he decides to leave his daughter on the grocery cart. When he looks at it, he realizes that she’s no longer there.

Stephen comes home and tells his wife, Julie (Kelly Macdonald), that he lost their daughter. The two start panicking and crying nonstop. Two years later, Stephen and Julie tell each other that they feel their daughter has been showing up in front of them in certain places. She’s still wearing the yellow coat she had on when she went missing.

In July, Cumberbatch opened up to Express about his role in “The Child in Time” and said that he’s very proud of the project. “It’s the first one we’ve ever done as a production company and that was very much me. I’m not Sherlock, I’m not Doctor Strange, it’s something much nearer to me. That was its own challenge because it’s very exposing in a way but also far more accessible, I guess,” he said.

The “Sherlock” lead star also said that his character, Stephen, is very different from Sherlock and Doctor Strange since he has gone through trauma like the two others didn’t. “I think it’s much more about the intensity or the cause for intensity and emotion that it is the other accoutrement of the character accent or superhero get ups. Whatever it may be,” he explained.

“The Child in Time” is slated to premiere on PBS sometime next year.