Netflix fans can't stop watching new binge-worthy 10/10 series with a star-studded cast as it's finally released and praise 'talented' lead actor

Netflix fans have gushed that they can't stop binging a new star-studded series which has finally been released on the streaming platform.

Ripley - starring Andrew Scott as fictional serial killer Tom Ripley and Dakota Fanning - dropped on Thursday and has been really impressing viewers.  

Fleabag actor Andrew, 47, is making his small screen return in the fresh take on Patricia Highsmith's enduringly popular 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley - a role previously played by Matt Damon and John Malkovich. 

Set in the 1960s, Ripley is hired by a wealthy New Yorker to travel to Italy to convince his wayward son Dickie (played by Johnny Flynn) to return home. 

Ripley lies his way into the lavish world of the elite before resorting to deceit and murder in a desperate attempt to keep his place at the table.

Fans went wild on Thursday as they began watching the as they said: 'Ripley: sublime, just sublime.',

'Fantastic adaptation of the novel.'

'This is actually a very handsomely made show and production. I’m enjoying it so far.',

'Not that it will surprise anyone, but Andrew Scott as #Ripley is sublime.',

'Loving this limited series so far. Beautifully shot and lit. The attention to detail at the beginning of the first episode really sets the tone. Andrew Scott/Tom Ripley really is talented.',

'Just watched the first episode of Ripley. Andrew Scott does not miss.',

'RIPLEY is so gorgeously shot that it can be distracting (complimentary), with Andrew Scott devouring the titular role with ease.',

'Honestly, I'd watch Andrew Scott read a phonebook but #Ripley has gotten off to a great start! #Netflix.',

'Five minutes into Ripley and I already love it! It's the vibe that was missing from the 90's remake. Jude Law and PSH were perfection in it, but I found Matt Damon to Be all wrong for Tom. The black and white filming, Andrew Scott, this is going to be great.'

It comes after Andrew opened up about the biggest challenge he faced while playing the fictional serial killer in the new Netflix adaptation. 

What makes the tale by Highsmith so unique is that Ripley is the novel's protagonist, Scott said, despite being a serial killer, and encourages readers to see his humanity.

'The challenge of it was 'How do you make the audience feel what it's like to be Tom Ripley, rather that where we might usually go, which is to feel like to be a victim of Tom Ripley',' Scott said.

While promoting the series, Scott said what makes Highsmith 'one of the great crime writers' is that you are sometimes 'willing' for Tom to get away with his crimes, rather than simply seeing him as a villain.

He said: 'He's the protagonist he's not the antagonist, so it asks us to look at what's dark within ourselves.'

Scott went onto say that humans choose to categorise the perpetrators as 'monsters' in order to 'make ourselves feel safer'.

'Actually all these things are perpetrated by human beings and we have to be able to in some ways accept the very terrifying nature that people can make mistakes and be bad and inept and innocent and yet still do these terrible things,' he added.

'And I think that's what is so sort of unsettling about the character. So he's actually a deeply human character, but maybe not one that we choose to want to look at too much.'

Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List) wrote and directed the latest adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley, following in the footsteps of the 1999 movie which starred Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

With a noir take, in comparison to the sumptuous visuals of the Hollywood movie, critics have compared the Netflix version to Hitchcock in style and pace.

Malkovich, who previously played the title role in 2002 movie Ripley's Game, returns to the world of Tom Ripley in a wildly different part while the star-studded cast also includes Dakota Fanning who portrays Marge Sherwood, an American living in Italy who starts to suspect Tom's motives.

While praise has been given to Scott, some reviewers felt the supporting cast came up short with Evening Standard's Anna Van Praagh deciding that Dakota Fanning 'can't compete for a second with Gwyneth's Paltrow's flawless Marge Sherwood, and Johnny Flynn is left dead on the side of the road compared to Jude Law's portrayal of Dickie Greenleaf, a character he inhabited perfectly.'

Zaillian's visuals though have left the critics awe-struck with Carol Midgely of The Times noting that 'it is so cinematic that it feels less like a TV series and more like a very long film,' declaring it as 'a completely hypnotic experience.' 

The Daily Mail's Christopher Stephens writes: 'This isn't just television, it's a homage to great 1940s directors such as Carol Reed or Alfred Hitchcock.'

Meanwhile Scott's central performance has captivated early viewers, with the Irish actor labelled 'spellbinding'.

Lucy Mangan for The Guardian writes in her five star review that 'Scott's Tom is everything and nothing, and mesmeric either way,' adding: 'There is magic at work here.'

But The Independent's Adam White is insistent that Scott, who also serves as executive producer, 'feels all wrong for this' and is comparable to an EastEnders baddie, looking 'more like a lost Mitchell brother than a high society interloper.'