Gentleman in Moscow (2016) by American writer Amor Towles has an orphan character as the protagonist. It was adapted for an 8 part series in 2024.

Count Alexander Rostov (Ewan McGregor) was orphaned at about the age of 10. He and his sister, Helen, then go to live with their grandmother.

When Count Alexander Rostov is tried by the Bolsheviks in 1922 and sentenced to house arrest, he becomes a ‘Former Person’ and his home is the attic of a hotel.

Over the years Rostov makes friends amongst the servants and some of the hotel's regulars, even becoming a waiter.

Then in 1938 he is left in temporary care of Sofia, a young child played by Billie Gadsdon. For the rest of the story he takes on the role of being Sofia’s parent.