Andrew Scott's Ripley reminds us Netflix remains in the business of stylish thrillers after The Killer
Morals better left at the door.
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Loved The Killer last year? Started paying a Netflix sub because the company doubled down on stylish thrillers and true crime series? It looks like they're not backing down anytime soon with that type of productions, as their upcoming Ripley series has both looks that kill and strong acting talent involved.
While you're still chewing through Avatar: The Last Airbender and possibly preparing for the streamer's massive 3 Body Problem adaptation, you might want to check out Ripley's second trailer and note down its April 4 release date. You'd expect Netflix to keep the ball rolling into the spring season with more cheerful stuff, but the suspense and grim thriller business has been traditionally great for them, and David Fincher's latest definitely killed in late 2023. The secret sauce? Audiences might be into utterly despicable and amoral individuals presented through a playful lens.
Mind you, Steven Zaillian (the screenwriter behind Schindler's List) is a quite different filmmaker from David Fincher, but they both clearly gunned for strong visual styles while adapting someone else's work with their respective projects. With so many adaptations of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley already out there, you gotta bring something new to the table, whether it's a refreshing voice to the bloody tale or a striking presentation. We'll have to wait for the first reactions and review to know about the former, but the previews confirm the latter is locked.
Netflix's recent history tells us its subscribers should respond to such a TV series, especially when it's presented in such a way and packing talent like Andrew Scott (who's currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity), Dakota Fanning, and John Malkovich, among others.
The 8-episode Ripley series was directed and written by Steven Zaillian, who recently penned Martin Scorsese's The Irishman (also for Netflix). For those unaware of the novel's plot: The story follows Andrew Scott (Sherlock) as Ripley, a grifter that's scraping by and begins a relationship with a wealthy man traveling in Italy. Of course, deceit and drama follow.
