After multiple years of attempting and failing to get a series based on the film Cruel Intentions off the ground, it appears the series has finally found a new home! A new report says that Prime Video has ordered an eight-episode series based on the 1999 cult classic, according to TVLine. The series is set to begin production later this month in Toronto.
While the project was originally in development at Freevee, the report from TVLine says that the series will now be heading to its sister streaming service Prime Video. 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 wager based on Sebastian's (a known womanizer) ability to seduce the daughter of their prep school in New York City, Annette Hargrove, played by Reese Witherspoon.
While the bigger details such as casting have not been made official, TVLine's report provides some insight into the plot of the upcoming series. The new series moves the focus from The Big Apple to the country's capital as it follows a pair of step-siblings in Washington, D.C. After their image is damaged after a "brutal hazing incident," the duo decides there is only one way to salvage their reputation: seduce the daughter of the Vice President of the United States.
Previous Iterations Of A Cruel Intentions Series
The idea of a Cruel Intentions series first began not too long after the film's original release as Fox attempted to create a prequel series called Manchester Prep though that project was eventually scrapped. The most recent incarnation of a series based on the film began to take shape back in 2016 when NBC ordered a pilot that would feature Gellar in a starring role and take place 16 years after the original film's events. That project was eventually canceled, with Gellar going on to say that she was glad that the series didn't move forward since the show as it did not live up to the 1999 film. It was announced in 2021 that this version of the show began development with Euphoria's Phoebe Fisher helming the series' pilot as a writer along with Sara Goodman (Gossip Girl). Neal H. Moritz is set to serve as an executive producer on the series, having been a producer on the original film.
A release date of the Cruel Intentions series has not yet been announced, though the project is set to start production in Toronto later this month. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates about the TV adaptation of the cult classic film. While we wait for more information, check out our interview with Witherspoon for The Morning Show below.