Sarah Catherine Hook, Savannah Lee Smith and Lucien Belmont will feature in the TV reboot of ‘Cruel Intentions’. Picture: X.
A TV reboot of the 1990s cult classic movie “Cruel Intentions” is in the works.
The 1999 romance thriller, which starred some of the biggest stars of that era including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair, went on to define an era and become a pop culture phenomenon.
It tells the tale of two vicious step-siblings (Gellar and Phillippe) from an elite Manhattan prep school who set their sights on the new headmaster’s daughter (Witherspoon) .
And while none of the original cast will reprise their roles, a new generation of stars will feature in the TV iteration of the Amazon Prime Video series which is set to be released in November.
The release date has yet to be announced but it is expected to be an eight-episode series.
It is based on the same book, “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, that the original film was based on. Instead of the lives of private high school students in New York City, the adaptation will be set in Washington D.C.
It will once again centre around two ruthless step-siblings who will do anything to stay at the top of the Greek Life hierarchy at their elite college.
According to “Variety”, the show will see a brutal college hazing incident threatening the entire Panhellenic system and the siblings will do whatever it takes to preserve their power and reputations, including seducing the daughter of the US vice president, who attends their college.
The publication added that the cast will include Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, Savannah Lee Smith, Sara Silva, Khobe Clarke and John Harlan Kim, amongst several others.
Lauren Anderson, the head of AVOD originals, unscripted and targeted programming at Amazon MGM Studios was quoted as saying: “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.
“We are beyond thrilled to share the next chapter of ‘Cruel Intentions’’ intriguing interplay of deception, wit and reckoning with Prime customers.
Meanwhile, Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher serve as writers and executive producers while Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty also executive produce along with Roger Kumble.
Moritz produced the original film, which was written and directed by Kumble. Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi are the producers.
In 2016, NBC ordered a pilot for a follow-up to the original film with Gellar attached to reprise her role as Kathryn Merteuil. It didn’t make it to the series and, prior to that, Fox attempted a “Cruel Intentions” prequel show, which was cancelled before making it to air.
Three episodes of that show were eventually assembled to become the direct-to-video film “Cruel Intentions 2” in 2001. In 2004, Sony Pictures produced a second direct-to-video sequel, “Cruel Intentions 3.”