Fans of sweeping period dramas based on best-selling novels, such as Pride and Prejudice, are in for a real treat, as one limited series has been dubbed "perfect" by impressed viewers. The Leopard consists of six episodes and was released on Netflix in March 2025.
Plot and Setting of The Leopard
Set in 19th-century Sicily, The Leopard delves into the story of an aristocratic family caught up in the "changing sociopolitical times" as Italy was on the verge of unification, with Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Redshirt army poised to conquer Sicily. The period drama is based on the 1958 novel Il Gattopardo (in English, The Leopard) by Italian author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which chronicled the period through the eyes of the Sicilian aristocratic family.
The classic novel was nearly never published, having been rejected by two publishers before being released after the author's death. However, The Leopard is now considered one of the most important novels of the 20th Century.
Cast and Characters
Decades after Luchino Visconti's Palme d'Or–winning film adaptation of The Leopard, released in 1963, the story comes to life once again in a modern limited series. Viewers can expect to be transported by the revolutionary history and the magnificent sets.
Set in 19th-century Sicily, The Leopard tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, a Sicilian nobleman whose aristocratic family weathers "changing sociopolitical times" of Italian life during Garibaldi’s conquest. When the Redshirts arrive in Palermo, Corbera realises that his loved ones are in danger and that the old aristocracy is threatened, so his family flees to his Donnafugata estate, where their situation quickly becomes precarious.
Starring as Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, is actor Kim Rossi Stuart, who has worked on an abundance of Italian titles like Angel of Evil, Everybody Loves Diamonds, and The Keys to the House. He is joined by actress Benedetta Porcaroli, who starred as schoolgirl Chiara in the Netflix teen show Baby, and later appeared in the horror film Immaculate with Sydney Sweeney, as well as in the film Amanda and the Netflix series The Gentleman.
Deva Cassel plays Angelica Sedara, and the actress is no stranger to show business as her parents are Italian actress Monica Bellucci and her French actor Vincent Cassel. The cast also includes Disney’s Alex & Co star Saul Nanni, TV presenter Paolo Calabresi, and ZeroZeroZero’s Francesco Colella.
Viewer Reception and Availability
Since Netflix's The Leopard was released last year on the streaming service, viewers have been praising the period drama on Rotten Tomatoes, with one person writing: "As testaments to the flux of history go, The Leopard manages to be beautiful, engaging and suitably elegiac."
A second expressed: "The series can feel like an exquisite Italian cake, created to perfection, a thing of beauty to behold and indeed devour". A third chimed in: "Netflix's The Leopard is a thrilling and dramatic watch with juicy twists and turns", while another added: "The Leopard is just ludicrously luxe."
"A remake of Lucino Visconti's classic film, this stunning, if slow-paced period/political drama explores themes of power, romance, immorality and societal change - as General; Garibaldi's army from the North invades Sicily in its unification of Italy", explained another. The Leopard is streaming now on Netflix.
