Ripley on Netflix: Release date, star cast and where you've seen them before

Andrew Scott is a deadly career criminal in the upcoming Netflix series Ripley. Fans don't have long to wait, with the eight-parter dropping only in a matter of days.

Set in 1960s Italy and shot in black and white, the new series is based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling Tom Ripley novels. The Night Of's Steve Zaillian serves as writer, director and executive producer.

It sees New York-based Ripley hired by a wealthy industrial to travel to Italy, where he must convince the man's son, Dickie Greenleaf - portrayed by Johnny Flynn - to return home. He finds himself stepping into a complex life of deceit, fraud and, of course, murder.

READ MORE: Move over Dubai - the overlooked destination you can reach from Manchester Airport that's one of travel's best kept secrets

Opting to tell Ripley's story via a series and not a feature film, Zaillian told Vanity Fair in December that it 'allowed me to be more faithful to the story, tone, and subtleties of Highsmith’s work.” He added: “[I] tried to approach my adaptation in a way I imagined she might herself.”

On the decision to shoot the show in black and white, he told the publication: “The edition of the Ripley book I had on my desk had an evocative black-and-white photograph on the cover. As I was writing, I held that image in my mind. Black and white fits this story—and it’s gorgeous.”

There's not long to go until Ripley releases. The limited series drops on Netflix on Thursday April 4. It will be available to stream from 8am in the UK.

Andrew Scott stars as Tom Ripley. The 47-year-old award-winning actor rose to fame portraying James Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock and is known for being the Hot Priest in the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag.

He's also