Ripley (TV series)

Ripley is an American neo-noir psychological thriller miniseries created, written and directed by Steven Zaillian, based on Patricia Highsmith's 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Starring Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, with Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf, the eight-episode limited series is the first adaptation of Highsmith's novel to a series.

Ripley was originally set to air on Showtime, but in February 2023 the series was moved to Netflix. It premiered on April 4, 2024, and received critical praise for its writing, directing, production design, cinematography, score, and performances, particularly for Scott's portrayal of Tom Ripley. At the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, it received 13 nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting nods for Scott and Fanning.

Premise
In late 1950s New York, Tom Ripley, a down-at-the-heels con-man, is hired by a wealthy man to convince his prodigal son to return home from Italy. But Tom's introduction to Dickie Greenleaf's comfortable and leisurely life abroad turns out to be "the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder".

Main

 * Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley
 * Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood
 * Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf
 * Eliot Sumner as Freddie Miles
 * Margherita Buy as Signorina Buffi, Ripley's landlady
 * Maurizio Lombardi as Inspector Pietro Ravini

Guest

 * Kenneth Lonergan as Herbert Greenleaf
 * Ann Cusack as Emily Greenleaf
 * Bokeem Woodbine as Alvin McCarron
 * Vittorio Viviani as Matteo
 * Louis Hofmann as Max Yoder
 * Fisher Stevens as Edward T. Cavanagh
 * John Malkovich as Reeves Minot

Development
On September 25, 2019, it was announced that Andrew Scott had been cast as Tom Ripley in Ripley, a television series to be adapted from Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels. A series order of eight episodes was commissioned by Showtime, to be written and directed by Steven Zaillian, who pitched the series to the network. He explained that adapting the material as a series rather than a feature film "allowed me to be more faithful to the story, tone, and subtleties of Highsmith's work. [I] tried to approach my adaptation in a way I imagined she might herself." Zaillian serves as executive producer alongside Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, and Philipp Keel, with Scott as a producer. The series was co-produced by Showtime and Endemol Shine North America in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights. Though designed as a limited series, further seasons are a possibility.

Casting
The casting of Scott as Tom Ripley was announced in September 2019. Johnny Flynn was cast as Dickie Greenleaf in January 2020, and in March 2021, Dakota Fanning was cast as Marge Sherwood. Eliot Sumner joined the cast in a recurring role in December 2021. John Malkovich, who portrayed Ripley in the 2002 film Ripley's Game, was cast as Reeves Minot, a supporting character in Highsmith's later Ripley novels.

Scott said of his portrayal, "You don't play the opinions, the previous attitudes that people might have about Tom Ripley ... I have to have the courage to create our own version and my own understanding of the character ... It was a heavy part to play. I found it mentally and physically really hard". He described understanding what Ripley does as "arduous", explaining, "Certain things I can understand, but other things—it's actually the blankness that's sometimes hard to engage with."

Filming
Shooting was originally planned to begin in Italy in September 2020, but was later delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19. Robert Elswit was the cinematographer of all eight episodes, and shot with Arri Alexa LF digital cameras. Ripley is presented in black and white. The only things shown in color in the series are the red bloody paw prints of a cat on the steps at the end of episode 5. Zaillian explained, "The edition of the Ripley book I had on my desk had an evocative black-and-white photograph on the cover. As I was writing, I held that image in my mind. Black and white fits this story—and it's gorgeous."

Release
Ripley was initially announced to be broadcast on Showtime, but in February 2023, Deadline Hollywood reported that the series would be moving to Netflix. It was released on April 4, 2024.

Audience viewership
Ripley debuted at number six on Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles for the tracking week of 1-7 April 2024 with 16.9 million hours viewed. On the following week, it remained at the same position and garnered 18.4 million viewing hours.

Critical response


The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 8.0/10, based on 132 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bathed in opulent black and white with a reptilian Andrew Scott holding the screen hostage, Steven Zaillian's sumptuous reinterpretation of Ripley draws fresh blood from Patricia Highsmith's insidious social climber." On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Matt Schimkowitz of The A.V. Club gave the series an A− and said, "The fun of Ripley is always in how he gets away with his crimes, and Zaillian doesn't forget that." Reviewing the series for The Mercury News, Randy Myers gave a rating of 3.5/4 and commented, "While some might be put off by Ripley's measured tempo and its detached icicle of a protagonist, noir fans won't be and will admire how effectively it revives an often overworked genre." Linda Holmes of NPR described the series as "A meticulously built piece of filmmaking that references classic noir and Hitchcock as well as Italian cinema greats, and just looking at it shot by shot is a profound pleasure." Judy Berman of Time wrote, "Scott... may be more than two decades older than his character as conceived by Highsmith (he doesn't look it) but has nonetheless given us the first definitive onscreen Ripley."