Netflix Reveals First Look at Andrew Scott in Talented Mr. Ripley Reboot

A new highly-anticipated reboot is headed to Netflix. On Monday, the streaming service revealed the first look at Ripley, a new limited series that will be released exclusively on the platform in 2024. The series, which is created by The Irishman and The Night Of‘s Steven Zaillian, will star Fleabag and Sherlock star Andrew Scott as the titular Tom Ripley. Ripley was originally set to air on Showtime, before being dropped by the platform. It was subsequently picked up by Netflix in February of this year. An exact release date for Ripley Season 1 has not been set.

Ripley is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, and is the latest adaptation of the book, after 1960’s Purple Noon and 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. The entire series will be presented in black and white.

“I feel like you’re required to love and advocate for your characters, and your job is to go, Why? What’s that? You don’t play the opinions, the previous attitudes that people might have about Tom Ripley,” Scott explained in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “You have to throw all those out, try not to listen to them, and go, Okay, well, I have to have the courage to create our own version and my own understanding of the character.”

What Is Ripley About?

In Ripley, in 1960s New York, Tom Ripley is hired by a wealthy man to convince his wayward son to return home from Italy. But Tom’s introduction to Dickie Greenleaf’s leisurely life abroad is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder. In addition to Scott, Ripley stars Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf, and Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood.

“[Multiple episodes] allowed me to be more faithful to the story, tone, and subtleties of Highsmith’s work.” Zaillian explained in the same interview. “[I] tried to approach my adaptation in a way I imagined she might herself.”

Will Fleabag Get a Season 3?

For many television viewers, Scott is best known for portraying the “Hot Priest” in the sophomore season of Prime Video’s Fleabag. While it’s safe to assume that a third season of the Emmy-winning series will not happen, Scott did reunite with series creator and co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the second season of HBO’s His Dark Materials. In the season, Waller-Bridge voiced the dæmon of Scott’s John Parry, an osprey bird named Sayan Kotor.

“What’s beautiful to me about the books is the relationship with the dæmons and, I think this is the first time we are revealing this, but my dæmon is going to be played by someone who is very close to me in my real life: a young performer and writer called Phoebe Waller-Bridge,” Scott explained at the time. “The relationship is all about companionship, friendship, and loyalty and that’s what I feel about Phoebe in my real life so it’s wonderful that this is happening.”

What do you think of the first look at Netflix’s Ripley? Will you be checking out the new series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

As mentioned above, Ripley will debut exclusively on Netflix at some point in 2024.