A long-gestating Showtime series based on Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels will no longer air on Showtime.
The drama, titled Ripley and starring Andrew Scott as the title character, is instead set to land at Netflix, pending details of a deal being finalized. The change comes as Showtime is set to merge with Paramount+ and will refocus on building out franchises of its most successful series, including Billions and Dexter.
Reps for Showtime and Netflix declined to comment.
Showtime gave Ripley a series order in 2019, with Oscar winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, HBO’s The Night Of) writing and directing all eight episodes. Scott plays Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York who’s hired by a wealthy man to go to Italy and try to convince his vagabond son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), to return home. Tom accepts the job and takes a first step into a life of deceit, fraud and murder.
Dakota Fanning also stars as Marge Sherwood, who suspects the seemingly affable Tom has darker motives. Matt Damon starred as Tom in the 1999 film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley; Jude Law played Dickie, and Gwyneth Paltrow played Marge.
Ripley is the latest Showtime series to be offloaded as Chris McCarthy, who now heads the premium cabler along with Paramount Global’s ad-supported cable networks, shifts Showtime’s strategy to franchise-building in the vein of Yellowstone, whose multi-show world spans Paramount+ and the linear Paramount Network.Three Women, a drama starring Shailene Woodley, is moving from Showtime to Starz, and a number of shows including American Gigolo, On Becoming a God in Central Florida and Let the Right One In have been removed from Showtime’s streaming platform.
Ripley has finished filming and is in postproduction. Showtime co-produces the series with Endemol Shine North America, in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights. Zaillian executive produces with Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, and Philipp Keel of Diogenes. Scott is a producer.
Puck first reported the news.
