Almost a quarter of a century after its release, *Cruel Intentions—*Roger Kumble’s delicious cult classic featuring ’90s icons Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair—continues to loom large. Is it the era-defining fashion that keeps it firmly in the public consciousness? Those unforgettable performances? That acerbic script? Whatever the crux of its appeal, fans have long been clamoring for more from the toxic step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont—and they’re about to get it, though in a slightly different format from what they might have expected.
Prime Video has announced that a new Cruel Intentions series will be coming to the platform, an updated take on the original which has been in development since 2021. Its setting will also change, from New York to another steely East Coast city. The log line reads: “In the new adaptation, Cruel Intentions is set at an elite Washington, DC, college, where two ruthless step siblings will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy. 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.”
The eight-episode show, which will be penned by Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman, who have promised to make it “as fun, irreverent, and boundary-pushing as the original,” is due to feature a talented young cast, too. Expect to see Impeachment: American Crime Story’s Sarah Catherine Hook, Totally Completely Fine’s Zac Burgess, the Gossip Girl reboot’s Savannah Lee Smith, American Horror Stories’s Sara Silva, Yellowjackets’s Khobe Clarke, The Last Thing He Told Me’s John Harlan Kim, and You’s Brooke Lena Johnson.
And if you need reassurance that the new series will honor the 1999 film? The latter’s director, Roger Kumble, and producer, Neal H. Moritz are among the executive producers of the upcoming release. Bring on the backstabbing.
