Writer Patricia Highsmith is known for her clever mysteries – such as ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’, which was made into a movie in 2000 and stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The result: “A fantastically cast drama set against an Italian postcard backdrop,” as it says in our four-star review. Now comes “The Talented Mr. Ripley” as a series – to the streaming service Netflix.
Sherlock and Fleabag play Andrew Scott in Ripley’s latest adaptation. And we probably won’t have to wait too long before we see the adventures of the well-dressed imposter on the small screen. Because Netflix bought the series from Showtime, or loudly rounded it off just the deal – and Showtime has already filmed the series, and The Talented Ripley is currently in post-production. The start on Showtime was rather expected in late 2023 or early 2024.
›› “The Talented Mr. Ripley” – the movie with a subscription to Paramount+*
Showtime had already commissioned the prestigious project in 2019. The fact that the project was rejected after such a long period of quite successful development is likely due to the impending merger of Showtime and Paramount+, which is why a restructuring is currently underway.
“The Talented Mr. Ripley”: enduring mini-series
Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley in the series, who survives as a con artist in 1960s New York. When one day he gets the job of bringing his son Dickie (Johnny Flynn), who enjoys life in Italy, back to America for a wealthy businessman, Tom soon becomes obsessed with the luxurious lifestyle of Dickie and his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning). Tom hatches a plan to take over Dickie’s identity…
According to Deadline’s sources, “Ripley” could be a eight-part miniseries based on Highsmith’s first novel by Tom Ripley, The Talented Mr. Ripley. However, if successful, sequels are possible – and there are plenty of templates for that, after all, the bestselling author has written a total of five Ripley books.
›› “The Talented Mr. Ripley” – the book on Amazon*
Steven Zaillian wrote and directed the entire first season of Ripley. And that, in addition to the well-known template and the promising cast, makes you even more curious about the series. Because Zaillian has already written some strong screenplays for Hollywood movies, including “Schindler’s List”, “The Cartel”, “American Gangster” and “The Art of Winning – Moneyball”.