Coming soon, The Leopard is already on the right track to become the newest sensation on Netflix. Here is everything we know about the show!
If you love historical dramas, Netflix’s newest show The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) will certainly be for you. So far, the streaming platform has only released one teaser trailer and a handful of promotional pictures, but what do we actually know about the upcoming series? Read to find out! From the release date to the plot and character, this is everything we know about the new tv show that will soon stream on Netflix.
Source Material: What Is The Leopard Based on?
The show is based on a book of the same name, “The Leopard” (“Il Gattopardo” in the original title) by Sicilian writer Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa. The novel was published posthumously in 1958, a year after the death of its author. Despite having been rejected by two of the most famous publishing houses in Italy when the writer was alive, the book went on to receive widespread acclaim and critical success. But this is not the first time Tomani’s work is adapted for the screen. In 1963, Luchino Visconti directed The Leopard, starring Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster, and Alain Delon, which won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.
The Time and Place: When is The Leopard set?
The original novel is set in Sicily between 1860 and 1910. If you are familiar with Italian history at all, you would know that this is a pivotal moment in the making of the country. The unification of Italy was declared on the 17th of March 1861, with Rome officially becoming part of the newly established Kingdom of Italy only in 1970. Therefore, The Leopard – both Tomasi’s book and most likely the Netflix tv show – cleverly uses the unification of Italy as its historical backdrop. Most of the novel actually takes place in the 1860s, more specifically in the years between 1860 and 1870, in Palermo, where the majority of the plot unfolds.
The Plot: What is The Leopard about?
The Leopard tells the story of the aristocratic Salina family – whose family shield is the titular leopard – headed by his patriarch, Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina. As the uprisings to unify the country reach Sicily, Don Fabrizio must face the uncomfortable truth that the world he is accustomed to is changing as the Sicilian noble class is inevitably falling into decline with the imminent formation of the Kingdom of Italy. When he leaves Palermo for Donnafugata, where the family estate is, Don Fabrizio learns that the new-money middle class is presenting a real challenge to his aristocratic wealth as the new major of the town, Don Calogero Sedara, now rivals the political and economic power of the Salina family.
Cast: Who Is Starring in The Leopard?
With an almost exclusively Italian cast, The Leopard seems to stay true to its story’s cultural background. Don Fabrizio will be played by Kim Rossi Stuart, best known in Italy for his roles in The Garden of Eden and Karate Warrior. Saul Nanni is Tancredi, Don Fabrizio’s beloved nephew who has a much more optimistic outlook towards the social and economic changes of the time. Deva Cassell, the Italian voice of Ennui in Inside Out 2, is going to be Angelina Sedara, Don Calogero’s daughter who soon becomes romantically involved with Tancredi, much to the dismay of Concetta who is also in love with him. The latter, played by Benedetta Porcaroli (of Immaculate), is one of Don Fabrizio’s daughters.
The Creative Team Behind The Leopard
While it is a Netflix show, The Leopard is produced by Indiana Production and Moonage Pictures. The latter is also behind other successful Netflix series, like The Gentlemen and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, proving that their shows have dealt with some of the themes we may see in The Leopard with the former and that they are not new to adapting literary content with the latter. With a script co-written by Richard Worlow and Benji Walters, the series is directed by Tom Shankland, who was nominated for an Emmy in 2015 with The Missing, paired with two Italian directors, Giuseppe Capotondi and Laura Luchetti. The latter has already worked on adapting Italian literature for the screen with A Beautiful Summer, which she directed and co-wrote and where Deva Cassel also stars.
The Production: Where Was The Leopard Filmed?
Shooting for The Leopard started in 2023. Quite appropriately, the filming locations were mostly in Sicily, between Palermo, Catania, and Syracuse. This was very much the case also for the 1963 movie which was filmed on location in Palermo for two months. While most of the exteriors and locations – including the very famous 46-minute long ballroom scene – were filmed in the Sicilian capital, Visconti shot the interiors in Rome, which does not seem to be the case for the Netflix show.
Is There A Trailer for The Leopard?
Netflix released a trailer for The Leopard in December 2024. From the very beginning of the official teaser, we get our first look at Kim Rossi Stuart as Don Fabrizio, the protagonist of the show. The audience can also see the historical component of the series, as Garibaldi and his men arrive in Sicily and fight to unite Italy in many of the scenes shown in the trailer. It also features one of the most famous sentences of the book, spoken by Tancredi to his uncle Don Fabrizio: “if we want things to stay the way they are, things will have to change.” Not only does this quote perfectly portray Tancredi’s attitude towards a world that is about to change, but it is also the sentiment at the heart of the entire story.
Release Date: When is The Leopard Coming Out?
If the trailer and the plot of The Leopard intrigued you, you will be glad to know that the wait for the Netflix show is almost over, as it will premiere in early 2025. The show will arrive on the streaming platform on March 5, 2025 and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it.
While we only have a teaser trailer and a few promotional pictures to go by, The Leopard already seems to be a promising show. With its focus on history, strong and determined characters, and a plot that blurs the lines between drama and historical romance, the upcoming Netflix show will appeal to viewers who like both genres and hopefully satisfy those in the audience – like me – who are first and foremost fans of the original source material.
