When it comes to using my Netflix subscription, oftentimes there are just too many new TV shows being added to the platform from week to week for me to catch up. That’s why I appreciate the “Top 10” feature on the app that allows me to see what people are watching. Obviously people are binging Kate Hudson’s new series that was already renewed, but when looking down the list, I was intrigued by a new period drama called The Leopard.
As you probably know, Netflix has had global success with a number of foreign-language series, such as Squid Game (which is soon ending after Season 3) and the Spanish crime series Money Heist. I hadn’t heard of it before, but apparently the streaming service shelled out a lot of cash to make the decadent The Leopard, which is an adaptation of a beloved Italian novel of the same name. Here’s what The Independent said about it:
…the show is beautifully made: the locations and costumes are sumptuous, the attention to period detail immaculate. This is a period drama on a scale rarely seen on TV, more akin to the expenditure on The Crown than terrestrial dramas like Wolf Hall or The Gilded Age.
That’s not the only mention of The Crown either. Many reviews name-dropped the same show!
What exactly is The Leopard? Well, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s classic novel from 1958 tells the story of the Sicilian aristocratic Corbera family during a time in the 19th century when Italy was going through immense changes – especially through the rise of an army called Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Redshirt army. I’ll be honest, I know close to nothing about Italian history, but reviewers comparing it to The Crown and describing it as “steamy” and “luxe” has my attention. As The Guardian’s review reads:
But this sweaty, steamy series is far more than a treat for the senses. Behind the frills and the romantic thrills – at the centre of the action is a captivating young love triangle – is a socio-historically insightful tale of an elite clan’s descent into obsolescence.
Hearing about this show reminds me of the time I found Max’s Like Water For Chocolate series, and ran to recommend it to Bridgerton fans. It was a foreign-language series based on a classic novel I wasn’t aware of, and yet the story completely won me over, and I loved learning about another culture. I think something we don’t realize in the U.S. is how much other countries are saturated by American culture through Hollywood movies.
So much of what they watch is technically foreign TV and movies, and yet they don’t complain about subtitles, and they soar to no. 1 on the Netflix global charts. Here’s what the The Telegraph said:
The Leopard is just ludicrously luxe. You can imagine it being played simultaneously on every screen in Currys as they show off the stunningly deep blacks in the latest range of Samsung OLEDs.
Clearly Netflix put a lot of resources into The Leopard, and I’m not interested in seeing what this classic story is all about. Not every outlet loves it, but even those that are not super into it say things like the below. Per The Times:
The series can feel like an exquisite Italian cake, created to perfection, a thing of beauty to behold and indeed devour.
OK, so this sounds like it’s one of the best shows to binge on Netflix, especially after the final The Crown season premiered in December 2023, and we’re still waiting on the Bridgerton Season 4 release date.
