Ripley: Viewers’ one big complaint with new Netflix show

Netflix’s latest smash hit series has been inundated with thousands of complaints online and they all say the same thing.

Viewers have one major complaint about Netflix's new smash hit series. Picture from Netflix.

Netflix viewers are switching off from the streaming service’s new series Ripley in droves for one surprising reason.

The eight-part mini-series, based on the 1955 Patricia Highsmith psychological thriller, The Talented Mr Ripley, is the latest adaptation since the hit film of the same name starring Matt Damon in 1999.

Viewers have one major complaint about Netflix's new smash hit series. Picture from Netflix.

Fleabag actor Andrew Scott plays the infamous conman as he attempts to infiltrate a world of glamour and wealth.

Despite being critically acclaimed, thousands of fans have been left frustrated by its defining feature: it is entirely black and white.

“I didn’t last the first episode. The cinematography is so annoying,” said one viewer.

“Why on earth is Ripley filmed in black and white? Surely the only reason to not film in colour previously was technology. Totally killed it for me, the dog seems quite OK with it though,” quipped another.

“Black and white is a good way to keep the budget down but adds nothing,” said one viewer.

Another viewer said, “What a crime to make a sexy crime show set in 1960s Italy and not do it in colour.”

While another upset viewer added: “Why on earth is Ripley filmed in black and white? Totally killed it for me.”

Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning star in the brand new series on Netflix. Picture by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

Writer-director Steve Zallian revealed the decision to film in black and white had been made very early on in the creation of the show.

“The edition of the Ripley book I had on my desk had an evocative black-and-white photograph on the cover,” he shared. “As I was writing, I held that image in my mind. Black and white fits this story — and it’s gorgeous.”

He continued: “I also felt that this story — the one that she told, the one that I wanted to tell — was quite sinister and quite dark.

“I just couldn’t imagine that taking place in a beautiful Italian setting with bright blue skies and colourful outfits and things like that.”

Steven elaborated on this in another interview with IndieWire. “When Patricia wrote it, if she imagined a movie being made from it back then, it would be in black and white,” he explained. “The cover of that book that I had was in black-and-white, so as I was reading it, it was in my mind to be that way.”