# The Leopard (2025 TV series)
**The Leopard** (Italian: *Il Gattopardo*) is a 2025 Italian-language historical drama limited series released on Netflix, adapted from [Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa](https://www.edgepedia.org/giuseppe-tomasi-di-lampedusa)'s 1958 novel of the same name. Set in Sicily during the unification of Italy in the 1860s, it follows Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, as he confronts the decline of his family's aristocratic privilege amid revolutionary change.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) The six-episode series premiered on March 5, 2025, and was created and written by Richard Warlow with Benji Walters.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *Il Gattopardo*; English title The Leopard[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) |
| Format | Six-episode limited series, Italian language, drama and history genres[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_leopard) |
| Release | March 5, 2025, exclusively on Netflix; world premiere in Rome on March 3, 2025[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) • [3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/celebrating-the-italian-historical-drama-il-gattopardo-across-the-globe) |
| Directors | Tom Shankland (episodes 1, 2, 3, and 6), Giuseppe Capotondi (episode 4), Laura Luchetti (episode 5)[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) |
| Lead cast | Kim Rossi Stuart (Don Fabrizio), Benedetta Porcaroli (Concetta), Deva Cassel (Angelica), Saul Nanni (Tancredi)[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) |
| Filming locations | Palermo, Syracuse, Catania, and Rome[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) |
| Reception | 73% Tomatometer and 76% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 72 on Metacritic[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_leopard) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-leopard/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Source novel and premise
The series adapts *Il Gattopardo*, the posthumously published 1958 novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which chronicles the Risorgimento period through the eyes of the Sicilian aristocratic Corbera family and became the highest-selling novel in Italian history.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-leopard-release-date-cast-news) The novel is set amid the Risorgimento, Italy's mid-19th-century unification, and focuses on a Sicilian aristocratic family at the center of sweeping change.[6](https://rts.org.uk/article/you-can-almost-taste-lemons-making-leopard-netflixs-love-letter-sicily)
The story centers on Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily. His world is shaken by [Giuseppe Garibaldi](https://www.edgepedia.org/giuseppe-garibaldi)'s invasion of Sicily in 1860, which overthrew the Bourbon king in Naples and brought about the unification of Italy.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) The prince's nephew Tancredi joins Garibaldi's Redshirts, and the prince must weigh an arranged marriage between Tancredi and the rich and beautiful Angelica, daughter of the newly rich mayor of Donnafugata, which could secure the family's legacy but would break the heart of his favorite daughter, Concetta.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) • [1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) Netflix framed the series as an exploration of power, love, and the cost of progress.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
### Cast and characters
Kim Rossi Stuart plays Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, the role at the center of the story; he described the character's condition as the sensation of being at the end of an era and of his own lifetime.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) Benedetta Porcaroli plays Concetta, the prince's daughter, and [Deva Cassel](https://www.edgepedia.org/deva-cassel), the daughter of actors [Monica Bellucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/monica-bellucci) and [Vincent Cassel](https://www.edgepedia.org/vincent-cassel), plays Angelica Sedara.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) • [7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) Saul Nanni plays Tancredi Falconeri, the role played by Alain Delon in the 1963 film; Nanni said he was honored to follow in Delon's footsteps.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) The supporting cast includes Paolo Calabresi as Pirrone, Francesco Colella as Sedara, Astrid Meloni as Maria Stella, and Greta Esposito as Chiara.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
### Episode count discrepancy
Netflix, IMDb, and episode guides list the series as six episodes, with Shankland directing episodes 1, 2, 3, and 6.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) • [15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15198870/fullcredits/) • [16](https://epguides.com/Leopard/) The Associated Press, in its February 2025 preview, stated that Shankland directs four of eight episodes.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) The six-episode count is the one confirmed by the platform's own release materials and multiple databases.
## Production
**Producers and development.** The series was produced by Fabrizio Donvito, Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib, and Alessandro Mascheroni for Indiana Production, and by Will Gould and Frith Tiplady for Moonage Pictures.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) Producer Will Gould described the novel as his favorite book and said the intent was to adapt the book rather than the Visconti film, which he called a masterpiece but not the book itself.[6](https://rts.org.uk/article/you-can-almost-taste-lemons-making-leopard-netflixs-love-letter-sicily) A Netflix executive stated in a 2025 press summary that the project was born in 2020 and reached the screen in 2025, and that the series reportedly cost about $50 million.[8](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/RESUMEN-DE-MEDIOS-10-10-2025.pdf)
**Direction and crew.** Tom Shankland, whose credits include *The Serpent*, *House of Cards*, and *The Leftovers*, directed episodes 1, 2, 3, and 6, with Giuseppe Capotondi directing episode 4 and Laura Luchetti episode 5.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) Shankland's father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and Shankland grew up traveling to Sicily with his family.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) The director of photography was Nicolaj Bruel, costumes were by Carlo Poggioli and Edoardo Russo, Dimitri Capuani was the production designer, and the original music was composed by Paolo Buonvino.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
**Filming and design.** Shooting took place in palaces in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Siracusa, and Catania, with the famed ballroom scene, in which the prince dances the waltz with Angelica, filmed in the ballroom of the Grand Plaza Hotel in Rome.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) Shankland used drone technology to show the family traveling in coaches across the Sicilian countryside and soldiers marching through Palermo.[7](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39) The Harvard Crimson reported that shooting on location in Sicily required 5,000 extras and 130 carriages, carts, and boats.[9](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/4/8/leopard-review/)
## Release and reception
Netflix announced the March 5, 2025 release date with an official poster in January 2025.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix) The world premiere took place in Rome on March 3, 2025, and Netflix held further events in Berlin, Brussels, London, Madrid, Paris, and Washington, D.C.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/celebrating-the-italian-historical-drama-il-gattopardo-across-the-globe)
**Viewership.** The series peaked at 3.4 million views in the week of March 3 to 9, 2025, spent 14 days in the Netflix Top 10, and drew 2.8 million views in the week of March 10 to 16, 2025.[10](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-leopard/)
**Critical response.** Season 1 holds a 73% Tomatometer and 76% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metascore of 72 on Metacritic, classified as generally favorable.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_leopard) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-leopard/critic-reviews/) Rachel Aroesti of *The Guardian* called it a sharp look at how the ruling classes survive social upheaval, more coherent and watchable than the film without being sugary or simplistic.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/05/the-leopard-review-netflix) Nick Hilton of *The Independent* described it as a glossy, big-budget Italian origin story that is beautiful, engaging, and suitably elegiac, and noted that Netflix's technology lets viewers move seamlessly between Italian, English, and other audio and subtitle options.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-leopard-netflix-sicily-b2706009.html) Reviewers frequently measured the series against [Luchino Visconti](https://www.edgepedia.org/luchino-visconti)'s 1963 film adaptation, which won the [Palme d'Or](https://www.edgepedia.org/palme-dor) at Cannes and starred [Burt Lancaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-lancaster), Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale; *Foreign Policy* found the 1963 version more intellectually demanding but the 2025 version's soap opera beats undeniably fun, while *Loud and Clear Reviews* judged the new version a less well-made retelling that struggles to add to the conversation.[13](https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/11/leopard-netflix-visconti-remake/) • [14](https://loudandclearreviews.com/the-leopard-2025-netflix-review/)
## References
1. ['The Leopard' Coming March 5 Only on Netflix, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-leopard-coming-march-5-only-on-netflix)
2. [The Leopard, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_leopard)
3. [Celebrating the Italian Historical Drama 'Il Gattopardo' Across the Globe, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/celebrating-the-italian-historical-drama-il-gattopardo-across-the-globe)
4. [The Leopard critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-leopard/critic-reviews/)
5. [The Leopard: Cast, Release Date, Photos, Plot of New Italian Limited Series, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-leopard-release-date-cast-news)
6. ["You can almost taste the lemons": Making The Leopard, Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/article/you-can-almost-taste-lemons-making-leopard-netflixs-love-letter-sicily)
7. [Netflix series 'The Leopard' remakes the classic Italian novel as a sumptuous period drama, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/502edc3afc5efaf028df77d5712e8e39)
8. [Resumen de Medios, 10 October 2025, Movistar Plus](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/RESUMEN-DE-MEDIOS-10-10-2025.pdf)
9. ['The Leopard' Review: Delightful and Disturbing, The Harvard Crimson](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/4/8/leopard-review/)
10. [The Leopard: Latest News and Updates, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/title/the-leopard/)
11. [The Leopard review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/05/the-leopard-review-netflix)
12. [The Leopard review: Style matches substance, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-leopard-netflix-sicily-b2706009.html)
13. [Review: 'The Leopard' on Netflix Remakes Visconti's Italian Classic Movie, Foreign Policy](https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/11/leopard-netflix-visconti-remake/)
14. [The Leopard Review: Not Everything Needs a Remake, Loud and Clear Reviews](https://loudandclearreviews.com/the-leopard-2025-netflix-review/)
15. [The Leopard (TV Mini Series 2025) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15198870/fullcredits/)
16. [The Leopard, a Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides](https://epguides.com/Leopard/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Literary and classic serial adaptations › Historical and epic drama adaptations*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license