The possibility hasn’t been ruled out.
Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the ending of Netflix’s Ripley.
The Big Picture
- Netflix’s
Ripley
reimagines the classic Patricia Highsmith story in an accurate and visually stunning manner, earning it high praise. - The ending sees Ripley committing brutal acts to protect his obsession with Dickie Greenleaf, successfully escaping consequences.
- Despite the difficult road to production, a second season of
Ripley
could potentially explore more of Highsmith’s novels, creating an exciting next chapter.
Certain characters seem to linger within popular culture for many decades, with different generations of storytellers each getting an opportunity to take a unique take on the classic story. While there have been adaptations of Patricia Highsmith’s book series ever since the French film Purple Noon was released in 1960, Steven Zallian’s reimagining of the original The Talented Mr. Ripley novel as the Netflix series Ripley instantly ranks highly on TheShockNews. Shot in gorgeous black-and-white and featuring stunning allusions to classic film noir of the 1940s, Ripley is already in the running to be one of the best shows of 2024. Although it has technically been classified as a “limited series” by Netflix, Zallian hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a second season of Ripley.
Ripley
A grifter named Ripley living in New York during the 1960s is hired by a wealthy man to begin a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.
- Cast
- Andrew Scott , Johnny Flynn , Dakota Fanning , Pasquale Esposito
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 1
How Does ‘Ripley’ End?
Highsmith’s original novel was most famously adapted to the big screen in 1999 by director Anthony Minghella in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which earned significant acclaim and became a box office smash hit; the film earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Jude Law’s charismatic portrayal of Dickie Greenleaf. However, Netflix’s Ripley is a far more accurate depiction of the original source material. Characters like Cate Blanchett’s Meredith Logue, who were created specifically for the 1999 film, do not appear in Ripley.
While Ripley does change the ages of the main characters so that they are in their forties, it tells the same story about Thomas Ripley (Andrew Scott) and his obsession with the disenfranchised expatriate Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn). Uninterested in returning to his home in the United States, Dickie opts to have a bohemian lifestyle in Italy with his girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning), where he is free from the influence of his domineering father, Herbert (Kenneth Lonergan). Frustrated that he is not able to get his son to understand the error of his ways, Herbert decides to take extreme measures by hiring a con man. He employs Ripley to go to Italy and convince Dickie to return home. Unfortunately, Ripley begins to identify a little too closely with the subject of his mission.
Over the course of his stay in Italy, Ripley befriends Dickie and begins to join in many of his exploits. However, his insertion into their lives sparks backlash from Marge, who feels that Ripley has overstayed his welcome and does not have Dickie’s best interests in mind. As he becomes increasingly obsessed with the prodigal son, Ripley refuses to hear any suggestion to let him be and begins a sightseeing trip throughout Italy. In the show’s most brutal moment, Ripley attacks Dickie when they are out boating and drops his body into the bottom of the sea. Although Dickie’s close friend, Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner), comes close to finding Ripley guilty, Freddie also pays the price for crossing the dangerous con man. After covering up the murders and deceiving Marge, Ripley manages to flee an investigation by Inspector Pietro Ravin (Maurizio Lombardi) and avoid the consequences of his crimes entirely.
‘Ripley’s Creator Has Hinted at a Possible Season 2
Although it has already been met with outstanding reviews, Ripley had a notoriously difficult road to production. After spending years in development hell and several production shutdowns as a result of the pandemic, Ripley was originally developed for Showtime before the rights to the series were acquired by Netflix. Although Zallian stated that he thinks that “the audience gets as clear of a window into Tom Ripley as you can in this series,” he’s less keen to commit to another season, given how labor-intensive the show already was to make. Zallian has questioned whether he would “have another five years to do it” if the series was greenlit for a second season by Netflix.
Despite his hesitancy to confirm that another season is underway, Zallian has also suggested that he would be interested in revisiting the Ripley character. There are five books in Highsmith’s original series, and Zallian made note that “Ripley goes through a lot of changes over the course of the five books,” and that they are “all interesting.” Given how much acclaim Scott has received for his haunting performance, it would be exciting to see how his adventures continued in further adaptations.
Although Zallian has stated that he would “absolutely” be interested in adapting further books in the series “given the right circumstances,” it remains unclear if Netflix would be willing to invest in such an expensive series that requires practical locations and gorgeous black and white visuals. Aesthetically, Ripley is a stunning achievement that feels closer in style to a film, particularly due to the outstanding cinematography by Robert Elswit, best known for his cinematic collaborations with writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson. Considering that Netflix has canceled many of its most expensive shows, Ripley’s renewal may depend on how well the series performs in terms of viewership.
‘Ripley’ Season 2 Could Adapt Patricia Highsmith’s Other Books
Should Zallian and Netflix reach an agreement on a second season, Highsmith’s books offer an exciting next chapter to Ripley’s story. The second novel, Ripley Under Ground, explores a slightly older Ripley’s adventures in London as he tries to cover up his crimes and utilize the full extent of Dickie’s fortune. The novel was adapted to the big screen with Dennis Hopper in 1977’s The American Friend and Barry Pepper in 2005’s Ripley Down Under. However, neither adaptation truly maximizes the novel’s potential, giving Zallian room to go into more detail if he were to use Ripley Down Under as the basis of a second season.
Given how exciting the later installments in Highsmith’s novel series are, Netflix has the opportunity to create their next long-running drama hit with Ripley. Given that The Crown recently concluded, and Stranger Things is in the middle of completing its final season, Netflix may want to invest in a multi-year creative partnership with Zallian.
Ripley is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.