Cruel Intentions Series Order Confirmed by Amazon; Additional Casting Announced

Nick Caruso
·3 min read

Prime Video’s forthcoming Cruel Intentions adaptation has fleshed out its cast following the exits of two previously announced stars.

Savannah Lee Smith (Gossip Girl) and Khobe Clarke (Firefly Lane) have officially joined as series regulars, while Claire Forlani (CSI: NY), Nikki Crawford (9-1-1), Isabella Tagliati (Scuba) and Zeke Goodman (I Know What You Did Last Summer) are set to recur. Forlani is replacing Laura Benanti who exited the project in June. Myra Molloy is also no longer on the roster.

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One actor from the original movie is returning: Sean Patrick Thomas (Gen-V), who played music teacher Ronald in the film version, will now play Professor Chadwick on the TV series. The main cast also includes Sarah Catherine Hook (First Kill), Zac Burgess (Totally Completely Fine), Brooke Lena Johnson (YOU), Sara Silva (The Boys) and John Harlan Kim (9-1-1).

This new iteration “takes place at an elite Washington, D.C. college, where two ruthless step-siblings will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy,” reads its official description. “After a brutal hazing incident threatens the entire Panhellenic system at their school, they’ll do whatever is necessary to preserve their power and reputation, even if that means seducing the daughter of the vice president of the United States.”

“From the ’90s cult-classic film to the 18th-century novel from which it was adapted, Cruel Intentions has captivated audiences with a story that transcends time,” Head of AVOD Originals, Unscripted and Targeted Programming, Amazon MGM Studios Lauren Anderson said in a statement. “We are beyond thrilled to share the next chapter of Cruel Intentions‘ intriguing interplay of deception, wit and reckoning with Prime customers and couldn’t be more appreciative of the commitment, dedication, and talent from this entire team — our incredible cast, endlessly clever writers led by [Executive Producers] Phoebe [Fisher] and Sara [Goodman], our fantastic partners at Sony and Original Film, and the executives that led the way at Amazon MGM Studios.”

“We are so excited to get to work together to continue the legacy of Cruel Intentions, a film that remains beloved by so many — including us!” Goodman and Fisher said. “We promise to make this next iteration as fun, irreverent and boundary-pushing as the original, and are grateful to our partners at Original Film, Sony, and Amazon MGM Studios for trusting us to keep it Cruel.”

The show was originally ordered to series back in April, but it wasn’t the first time a Cruel Intentions series tried to get off the ground. In 2016, NBC ordered a pilot for a sequel series that would have taken place 16 years after the events of the film, with Sarah Michelle Gellar set to return as Kathryn. The pilot was ultimately not given a series order, and it failed to find a home elsewhere.

The OG film version of Cruel Intentions — which was based on the 18th-century novel Dangerous Liaisons — starred Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont, who wagered on Sebastian’s ability to seduce Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), the daughter of the headmaster at their elite New York City prep school.

Are you interested in watching this new Cruel Intentions story? Let us know in the comments.

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