The upcoming limited series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels has been picked up by Netflix over three years after the project was first announced.
Before moving to Netflix, Ripley was originally set up at Showtime. According to Deadline, the producers decided to shop the miniseries to other networks and streamers due to recent cancellations caused by the premium network’s upcoming integration into Paramount+.
Ripley is written and directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Steven Zaillian. The miniseries will be led by Golden Globe nominee Andrew Scott, who’s best known for his performances on Sherlock and Fleabag Season 2. Joining Scott are Dakota Fanning, John Flynn, and Eliot Sumner. According to the outlet’s source, the project still currently in the early stages of post-production.
“The series centers around follows Tom Ripley (Scott), a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, who is hired by a wealthy man to try to convince his vagabond son, Dickie Greenleaf (Flynn), who is living a comfortable, trust-funded ex-pat life in Italy, to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder,” reads the synopsis.
The limited drama is produced by Scott and Endemol Shine North America in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights. Executive producers are Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, Philipp Keel, and Charlie Corwin.
In 1999, Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley was adapted into a movie by writer-director Anthony Minghella. The film starred Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law.