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. 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". but was later delayed to 2021 due to
COVID-19.
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 ==