Amazon Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions series has released its first trailer, offering a glimpse of the reimagined version of the 1999 cult classic film, which originally starred Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Selma Blair.
The series centers on step-siblings Caroline Merteuil (played by Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), who wield influence over Greek life at the prestigious Manchester College, an elite university in Washington, D.C. After a hazing incident spirals out of control, the pair finds themselves in a precarious situation.
Determined to escape trouble, they resort to manipulation, deception, and seduction to avoid the consequences.
The ensemble cast also includes Savannah Lee Smith, Sara Silva, Khobe Clarke, John Harlan Kim, and Brooke Lena Johnson.
Sean Patrick Thomas, who portrayed Ronald Clifford in the original film, returns to the series in the role of Professor Chadwick.
As a nod to the 1999 film, the trailer is set to a cover of The Verve’s iconic song “Bittersweet Symphony.” The Cruel Intentions series is slated for release on Prime Video worldwide on November 21.
The show, composed of eight episodes, serves as an updated take on the original film, itself based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. This new series marks at least the third attempt to adapt Cruel Intentions for television.
After the original film’s release, Fox ordered a spinoff series titled Manchester Prep, though it was ultimately scrapped before it aired.
Two completed episodes were later edited into a straight-to-video feature titled Cruel Intentions 2, with some racier footage added.
In 2015, NBC developed a sequel series set 15 years after the events of the original film, with Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her role as Kathryn Merteuil, but the network decided not to move forward with the show.
Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher serve as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers for the new series. Neal H.
Moritz, who produced the original film, returns as an executive producer alongside Pavun Shetty of Original Film and Roger Kumble, who wrote and directed the 1999 movie.
Bruce Mellon, along with Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi of Iervolino & Bacardi Entertainment, are also producers.
The series is a collaboration between Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, and Original Film. Sony’s Columbia Pictures and Original were also behind the original 1999 film.
