One of the most beloved and adapted heroes of literary thrillers is now coming to Netflix as a (black and white) television series.
Ripley is based on the same series of Patricia Highsmith novels that inspired films like The Talented Mr. Ripley (with Matt Damon in the title role), Ripley’s Game, and The American Friend. The new version is a limited series and features Andrew Scott, recently seen in the acclaimed film All of Us Strangers, in the lead as the new Tom Ripley. The cast also includes Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf. (In the Damon Talented Mr. Ripley, those roles were played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law, respectively.)
The Ripley series was adapted by Steven Zaillian, who wrote and directed the entire eight-episode limited series. You might know his name from his work as the screenwriter of films ranging from Schindler’s List to Moneyball to The Irishman. (His work as a director includes Searching For Bobby Fischer, A Civil Action, and All the King’s Men.)
The first trailer for the show doesn’t give away much, but it certainly looks like a stylish series; check it out below:
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Here is the series’ official synopsis:
Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder. The limited series drama is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels
Ripley is scheduled to debut on Netflix on April 4. I’m interested in this! I’m all for a dark, morally murky, good-looking TV series.
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