Netflix's Ripley: Release Date, Trailer, and Everything Else to Know

It's taken an unusually windy road, but Ripley, the latest adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's classic novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, is finally going to see the light of day at Netflix. The series, which was originally developed at Showtime, stars Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley and comes from four-time Oscar nominee Steven Zaillian.

Whether you're a longtime fan of the classic story or just somebody looking for a dope new show to binge, we've got all the details about the upcoming Ripley series, including the cast, crew, and when you'll be able to inject Ripley directly into your veins.

Ripley trailers and teasers

The full-length trailer for Ripley, released in early March, gives us our solid look at the series, showing just how effortlessly Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) inserts himself into Dickie Greenleaf's (Johnny Flynn) life, much to the suspicion of those around Dickie. "He's a liar," Marge (Dakota Fanning) says, in an incredible understatement. "It's his profession." He's also a murderer and a con artist, but who's keeping track?

Ripley's first teaser, released in February, was not particularly story-focused, with more of an emphasis on what sort of vibe you should expect from the series — but what a vibe it is, with the very stark and eye-catching black-and-white cinematography from the great Robert Elswit, and Ripley (Scott) looking appropriately creepy.

Ripley release date and episode count

Ripley will launch on Netflix in the United States on April 4, 2024, with all eight episodes of the series dropping that day. Ripley is a limited series and is not expected to go beyond this season.

What is Ripley about?

The Talented Mr. Ripley novel focuses on a con man named Tom Ripley who is hired by a rich man to encourage his prodigal son vacationing in Europe to return home to the United States. But Tom, who got this gig by pretending to already be friends with the man's son, has more nefarious plans as he attempts to ingratiate himself with these wealthy socialites.

The appeal of the Ripley character isn't just in what he does, but how. Tom is a charmer who very effectively carries the pretense of true culture despite having none, and his sexual flexibility gives him some bonus animal appeal. In other words, Tom Ripley is the sort of character who, if handled correctly, is hard to look away from.

This is the sixth time that the complicated sociopath Tom Ripley has been given life in a screen adaptation, and some big names have taken on this role in the past: Barry Pepper, Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich (who appears in Ripley as a different character), and most notably by Matt Damon in the late Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. That last film, and performance by Damon, is the standard by which Netflix's Ripley will be judged. 

But the new Ripley, Andrew Scott, is no slouch himself, and he's certainly got the skills necessary to make his mark in the role if the show is good enough.

Who will be in Netflix's Ripley?

Aside from Ripley himself, the key characters in the book being adapted here are Dickie Greenleaf, the man that Tom is hired to bring home, and Marge Sherwood, Dickie's girlfriend. Dakota Fanning will be playing Marge in this version of the story, with Johnny Flynn as Dickie — these are the roles that were played by Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1999 film. And John Malkovich will make some kind of appearance — he makes a lot of sense to play Dickie's father, which is a relatively small but very key role in the story.

Who created Ripley? 

This new Ripley adaptation was created by Steven Zaillian, who also wrote and directed all eight episodes. Zaillian is best known for his prestigious career as a movie screenwriter, which earned him four Oscar nominations, most recently for Martin Scorcese's The Irishman. Zaillian also co-created the HBO mini series The Night Of, and directed all but one of the episodes of that series.

Where to watch Ripley

Ripley will be available exclusively on Netflix when it's released on April 4.