The famously talented con man and criminal Tom Ripley, who was created by novelist Patricia Highsmith, and has gone on to a long and violent career both on the page and screen. The newest version of the material is Netflix’s Ripley, a series overseen by Oscar-winning writer Steven Zaillian (whose credits include Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman). On television, Zallian previously co-created HBO’s acclaimed show The Night Of.
Andrew Scott plays the new Ripley, in a story based on the first Ripley book, The Talented Mr. Ripley — the same story that was adapted to the popular film of that title that featured Matt Damon as Ripley some 25 years ago. Originally conceived for Showtime, the project eventually moved over to Netflix, who is now set to premiere the series on streaming. Zaillian wrote and directed every episode.
You can see Scott’s version of the character in action in the show’s full trailer, below.
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Here is the synopsis for Netflix’s Ripley series:
Tom Ripley (Scott), 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 drama series is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels.
Ripley premieres on Netflix on April 4. They’re calling it a “limited series,” which suggests they don’t intend to make more seasons. Of course, there were a bunch of Ripley novels, so if a lot of people tune in, there’s no reason they couldn’t make more. The full series runs for eight episodes.
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