Hollywood
‘Cruel Intentions’ to be adapted into TV Series
The 1999 drama film will be returning to screens with a new TV series adaption.
After years of attempting and failing to secure a TV series based on the 1999 drama film, it’s finally in the works. A new report claims that Amazon Prime Video has ordered an eight-episode series based on the cult classic.
According to TV Line, the series is set to begin production later this month in Toronto. The series was originally in development at Freevee, but will now be heading to its sister streaming service Prime Video.
The original series’ plot
The story of Cruel Intentions is based on the 18th-century novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ The modernized version of the novel follows a pair of step-siblings named Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe.
The two create a bet based on Sebastian’s ability to seduce the daughter of the headmaster of their prep school in New York City, Annette Hargrove, played by Reese Witherspoon.
The new series will have a slightly different plot, described by TV Line as, “Set in Washington, D.C., the series follows two ruthless step-siblings who will do anything to stay at the top of the Greek Life hierarchy at their elite college. When a brutal hazing incident threatens the entire Panhellenic system, they’ll do whatever is necessary to preserve their power and reputations… including seducing the daughter of the U.S. vice president.”
Past attempts
In 2016, NBC ordered a sequel series that would have taken place 16 years after the vents of the film, with Gellar set to return as Kathryn. However, the pilot was ultimately not given a series order and failed to find a home elsewhere.
Last October, Gellar admitted that she was “grateful” that NBC did not move forward with the pilot. “Nothing against NBC, but Cruel Intentions is straight streaming,” she told the New York Times.
“On the first day, I was like, ‘This isn’t working.’ It’s just not a network show. And if it is a network show, it’s not my Cruel Intentions. So, I was actually grateful.”
Even more NBC efforts, Fox attempted a prequel series titled ‘Manchester Prep’ in 1999. The project was scrapped before it aired, but three of the episodes produced were turned into a direct-to-video, ‘Cruel Intentions 2′ which was released in 2001.