The Talented Mr Ripley is one of my favourite films of the late 90s, based on the stellar novel by Patricia Highsmith, it’s deeply laced with smooth intrigue, dark outcomes and simmering tension – not forgetting superb performances from the likes of Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

For me, this new series from Netflix has a lot to live up to but with Andrew Scott as Ripley? I have a lot of faith over what’s to come. He can play the sociopath so impressively but also the tender side, which is a little more hidden here, yet this beautiful black and white teaser trailer only enhances the internal hype for a story that looks set to delve even deeper into the murky, must-watch world, with an 8-part series coming to Netflix on 4 April.

Directed and written by Steven Zaillian (who gave us the superb The Night Of amongst other creations), this series features Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood, and Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf, plus John Malkovich.

Check out the teaser:

Tom Ripley (Scott), a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.

Netflix’s new eight-episode series RIPLEY launches on 4th April