The six-part drama, based on the novel of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, is about the prince of Salina’s realisation that an era is ending as Italy moves towards unification and the old aristocracy is threatened.
The series stars Kim Rossi Stuard as the protagonist, Don Fabrizio; Saul Nanni as his nephew Tancredi; Deva Cassel as his future wife Angelica and Benedetta Porcaroli as Don Fabrizio’s daughter Concetta, who is hopelessly in love with Tancredi.
The show was shot in Palermo, Siracusa, Catania and Rome.
“I have worked in the Italian television industry for nearly 30 years,” explained Eleanora Andreatta, the vice president of content for Netflix Italy.
“When I started my adventure at Netflix, The Leopard was the first project I wanted to produce for its importance and ambition,” she stressed.
The six episodes are written by Richard Warlow and Benji Walters and directed by Tom Shankland, Giuseppe Capotondi (episode 4) and Laura Luchetti (episode 5).
Andreatta launched a teaser trailer on Monday in which the prince of Salina tells friends and families they are “all safe here”, betraying his concern.
She said Luchino Visconti’s 1963 movie starring Burt Lancaster as Don Fabrizio, Alain Delon as Tancredi and Claudia Cardinale as Angelica was a masterpiece, but added “there was always much more to the story”.
“The Leopard captures an iconic moment in Italian history,” Andreatta continued.
“But it’s also the story of a man who belongs to an era that is ending, with a difficult future to be imagined.
“In this sense, it appears to be very modern and universal.”
ANSA
