Showtime has given an eight-episode series order to “Ripley,” an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling series of novels, starring “Fleabag” and “Sherlock” alum Andrew Scott, the network announced on Wednesday.
“The Night Of’s” Steven Zaillian will write and direct the series, which centers on Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York. The character was first introduced in Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley” in 1955 and later appeared in four more of her novels. He was most famously portrayed on-screen by Matt Damon in the 1999 film by Anthony Minghella.
As described by Showtime, Ripley is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home, marking his “first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.”
“We are so thrilled to have the supremely talented filmmaker, Steve Zaillian, adapt the singular saga of Tom Ripley from Patricia Highsmith’s novels as an ongoing series for Showtime,” said Showtime entertainment president Gary Levine in a statement. “With Andrew Scott, whose charisma knows no bounds, inhabiting the iconic lead role, we feel confident that this will be a special one.”
Zaillian is executive producer on the series alongside Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy and Philipp Keel of Diogenes. Scott will serve as a producer.
The series is a co-production between Showtime and Endemol Shine North America, in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights.