Patrick Stewart to star in Seth MacFarlane's new comedy Blunt Talk

The actor will play a TV presenter determined to break into US cable news

Sir Patrick Stewart will play a hapless British TV presenter in Seth MacFarlane's Blunt Talk (Getty Images)

Patrick Stewart has been cast as a British TV presenter in an upcoming comedy from Seth MacFarlane.

The role will be the 73-year-old's first regular small screen performance since he left Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Stewart's character Walter Blunt will be in search of his big US break into cable news. Expect a dysfunctional staff, alcoholism and multiple ex-wives and kids from Blunt Talk, but as of yet there are few further details on the plot.

Starz network has ordered two seasons of the show, each with ten 30-minute episodes, with the first due to air in 2015.

Stewart will be producing as well as starring in Blunt Talk, based on an idea from Jonathan Ames.

MacFarlane has worked with Stewart on major projects before, notably for Family Guy and American Dad. He praised the actor's "unmatched skill and versatility", while also paying tribute to Ames' "formidable, wholly original, hilarious and provocative" creative style.

Stewart will next be seen in X Men: Days of Future Past. "Walter Blunt is not at all like Avery, thank god," he told CNN. "Blunt is much smarter than Avery and has his own TV show, which has to be better than being deputy director of the CIA."