The First Look at Netflix's Italian Period Drama 'The Leopard' Is Lush and Ambitious

The world of period drama is steadily getting bigger. Not only are we (finally!) getting more stories focused on British periods outside of the Regency (Mary & George, Monstrous Beauty), lavish foreign dramas are rapidly picking up the slack when it comes to historical dramas set outside the United Kingdom. From German series like The Empress to Danish shows like Seaside Hotel and Korean dramas like Kingdom, it’s easier than ever to add a little international flair to your viewing queue. And if these first images are anything to go by, Netflix’s new Italian series The Leopard will belong on your must-watch list.

The six-part drama is the streamer’s most ambitious Italian original to date. It will theoretically be the lush, sweeping period drama that will rival English language hits like Downton Abbey and The Crown. According to Variety, the production involves thousands of extras and custom-made costumes, furnishings, and sets created after intense study of the period in which it is set.

The series is based on the classic novel Il Gattopardo by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, an Italian writer, nobleman, and the last Prince of Lampedusa. His only book, Il Gattopardo, was first published posthumously in 1958 and is set in his native Sicily during the time of the Risorgimento, or the unification of Italy, during the late nineteenth century. An international bestseller, it was ultimately translated into more than 40 languages. 

The series is described as a “modern, sensual take” on the sprawling Sicilian saga that was famously adapted into a feature film by Luchino Visconti that starred starring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, and Burt Lancaster. Now considered an Italian cinematic classic, it won the 1963 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Prior to 1861, Italy, as we know it today, didn't really exist. Sure, the famous cities whose history you're already aware of (Rome, Florence, Milan, etc) did, but not as a single country, more a collection of smaller, variously aligned kingdoms and city-states over hundreds of years. Italy was divided into eight political states in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, but a social and political movement in favor of unification was already underway. 

The Leopard follows the story of nobleman Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, as he realizes his family's aristocratic way of life is threatened by revolution and the move towards Italian unification. Forced to break with tradition to secure his family's influence, he must arrange a marriage between his nephew Tancredi and the wealthy middle-class daughter of an influential Sicilian citizen, all while knowing his decision will break the heart of his favorite child Concetta. Major themes of the book include the inevitable tension between life, mortality, decay, eternity, and legacy. 

The series stars  Kim Rossi Stewart (Romanzo Criminale) as Don Fabrizio, Deva Cassel (The Beautiful Summer) — daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel — as Angelica Sedara. The main cast also includes Saul Nanni (Love & Gelato) as the prince’s nephew, Tancredi Falconeri, and Benedetta Porcaroli (Baby) as Concetta, his cousin, who is madly in love with Tancredi. Paolo Calabresi, Francesco Colella, Astrid Meloni, and Greta Esposito are part of the series' ensemble.

Here's the official synopsis. 

Based on what many consider to be one of the greatest Italian novels of all time, The Leopard is a dazzlingly sensuous epic, set against the backdrop of revolution in 1860s Sicily.

At its heart is Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, who leads a life surrounded by beauty and privilege. But as Italy moves towards unification and the old aristocratic order is threatened, he realizes that his family’s future is in jeopardy. New allegiances must be made, each one a threat to his principles.

Eventually Don Fabrizio is faced with an impossible choice. He has the power to engineer a marriage, between the rich and beautiful Angelica and his nephew Tancredi, that could secure his family’s legacy, but doing so he would break his favorite daughter, Concetta’s heart.

The series will be a modern exploration of timeless themes – power, love, and the cost of progress.

“Just as in the novel, even today we are faced with a society caught in the uncertainty of a transition, in which old traditions collide with new emerging ideas and values,” Eleonora Andreatta, Netflix's VP of Italian Originals, told Variety in a statement. "The contrast between the Prince of Salina and young Tancredi represents the dialectic between the preservation of the past and adherence to change, a theme that continues to resonate strongly in our society that is searching for reference points, especially among the new generations,”

Filming on The Leopard is currently underway in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Syracuse, and Catania and will last for four months, meaning we likely won't see the series until 2024..