K.T Simpson
Oscar-winning screenwriter Steve Zaillian has set his sights on Patricia Highsmith’s crime novel series, which has Tom Ripley as the sociopath anti-hero. Zaillian is set to write and direct a straight-to-series show, which will likely have the networks embroiled in a bidding war.
Per Deadline, Zaillian will use the five novels written by Highsmith — The Talented Mrs. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Underwater — as a road map to show Ripley’s progression from con artist to serial killer.
The novels have been turned into films many a time, with Matt Damon, Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, Barry Pepper and John Malkovich all having portrayed Ripley in the past.
The series will be produced by Endemol Shine North America, with Sharon Levy overseeing. Zaillian’s last series was HBO’s “The Night Of”.
