‘The Leopard’: Netflix’s Italian Period Drama Series Sets March 2025 Release

Netflix is growing its roots deeper in Europe, and one of its biggest new projects scheduled for release in 2025 is the Italian production The Leopard (titled Il Gattopardo in Italy). The new limited series is based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard and will be hitting Netflix screens globally on March 5th, 2025. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Director Tom Shankland will adopt a modern take on this classic story, that of the Prince of Salina and his family, which is that of yesterday and today’s Italy. Shankland, who will direct episodes 1-2-3-6, will be joined on set by directors Giuseppe Capotondi (episode 4) and Laura Luchetti (episode 5). The series is written by Richard Warlow, who is also the creator and executive producer, with Benji Walters.

The director of photography is Nicolaj Bruel, with costume designs by Carlo Poggioli and Edoardo Russo.

The six-episode series, first announced alongside the announcement of a new Netflix office in Rome in May 2022, is produced by Fabrizio Donvito, Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Marco Cohen, and Benedetto Habib for Indiana Production and by Will Gould, Frith Tiplady, and Matthew Read for Moonage Pictures.

Moonage Pictures is a frequent collaborator with Netflix having just recently released its steamy British series Obsession onto the service, and upcoming Netflix projects include The Gentlemen (a series spin-off to the Guy Ritchie movie) and Bodies which both are now streaming on Netflix.

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What’s the plot of The Leopard for Netflix?

Based on what many consider to be one of the greatest Italian novels of all time by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard is a dazzlingly sensuous epic set against the backdrop of revolution in 1860s Sicily. Here’s the synopsis for the original The Leopard:

“While Sicily is struggling in the turmoil of the Risorgimento in 1860, the Prince of Salina reigns over his family and his possessions, convinced that even these disorders are destined to pass. He hasn’t come to terms with the idealism of young people like his nephew Tancredi, who joins the rebels risking his own life, or the ambitions of men like Sedara, a vulgar man who rides change by pandering to the nascent power of mafia criminal organizations and intends to use his beautiful daughter Angelica to get what he wants. At Don Fabrizio’s side remains Concetta, his favourite daughter, who shares his intelligence and foresight. Her happiness will eventually be sacrificed in an attempt to ensure the survival of the power and of the name of the lineage.”

The series is being told with a contemporary perspective, according to reports, with universal themes for the series focusing on power, love, and the cost of progress.

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Who is cast in The Leopard for Netflix?

The cast of The Leopard stars:

• Kim Rossi Stuart (Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina) as Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina
• Benedetta Porcaroli (Concetta) as Concetta 
• Deva Cassel (Angelica Sedara)  plays the daughter of Vincent and Monica Bellucci, Angelica
• Saul Nanni (Tancredi Falconeri) as Tancredi

Other cast members include Paolo Calabresi, Corrado Invernizzi, Romano Reggiani, Simona Distefano, Francesco Colella, Astrid Meloni, and Greta Esposito.

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How many episodes will be in The Leopard?

Netflix’s The Leopard is a limited series and has been confirmed to consist of 6 one-hour episodes.

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What’s the production status of The Leopard?

Production for Netflix’s The Leopard limited series started on April 27, 2023, in Italy, with filming then wrapping up on September 9, 2023. It filmed in multiple locations in Italy including in Sicily, Palermo, Syracuse, Catania, and Rome. It was a big production with a crew of over 250 people, according to Vogue Italy, including five tailors whose sole purpose was to make costumes. 

Netflix confirmed production had started with a brand teaser on its Netflix Italia Twitter account on April 27th.

Numerous behind-the-scenes pictures have been snapped by BACKGRID, which What’s on Netflix has obtained below. These photos were snapped filming the four songs in Palermo.

Are you looking forward to watching The Leopard on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.