A series about sociopathic con man Tom Ripley (the character played by Matt Damon in "The Talented Mr. Ripley") is headed for Showtime.

Screenwriter Steven Zaillian (who won an Oscar for "Schindler's List") will write and direct most of the season's first episodes. He also co-created the HBO miniseries "The Night Of."

Zaillian will use the five novels written by Patricia Highsmith — "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Ripley Under Ground," "Ripley’s Game," "The Boy Who Followed Ripley" and "Ripley Underwater" — to show Ripley’s progression from con artist to serial killer.

No one has yet been announced to play Ripley.

He's been portrayed on screen several times, including by Damon, Alain Delon (the French film "High Noon"), Dennis Hopper ("The American Friend"), John Malkovich (2002's "Ripley's Game") and Barry Pepper (2005's "Ripley Underground").

Highsmith also wrote "Strangers on a Train," which became the classic Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.

[Via Deadline]