‘Cruel Intentions’ is back, but not as a feature film—instead it’s a new series on Prime Video from showrunners/ executive producers Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher (who also came out with 2021’s remake of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.) In the new show, the story is now set at an elite Washington, D.C. college, but the players are the same: Ruthless step-siblings, Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), will do anything to stay on top. Even try and seduce the Vice President’s daughter.
The 8-episode series has now dropped on the streaming service, and both Goodman and Fisher sat down to discuss the ins and outs of remaking this cult classic.
Where did the idea to re-make the movie into a show come from?
Sara: We’re both giant fans of the movie and ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ and everything that came before it. Honestly—I think we felt there was nothing like this on TV right now, and we wanted something like this to watch.
What characteristics from the movie did you want to make sure translated to the show?
Phoebe: I think the general spirit of the movie—both ‘Dangerous Liaisons and ‘Cruel Intentions’. It was important to keep that tonally consistent. But since this is an ongoing series, you also have more time to get to know these characters and sort of deepen all those dynamics.
For those who haven’t seen ‘Cruel Intentions’ how would you describe the tone of it then?
Sara: I think the title says a lot: It’s a rarefied world that we all want a glimpse into of people behaving badly and having fun and doing anything for power and entertainment. And there’s a lot of money.
Phoebe: And a lot of ruthless, sexy, fun.
The show is set in Washington DC and we get glimpses into secret societies and Greek life at prestigious universities. Why set it in that environment?
Phoebe: It lent itself to all the themes of the source material—it is ultimately all about power and these sort of Machiavellian manipulations in a place with great privilege. So whether it be the Royal Court or the Upper East Side, this is a new sort of iteration in a new place where there’s a social hierarchy that already exists. It’s a world full of rights, rituals and traditions. That was a great backdrop for our story.
Sara: Also the exclusivity of it was really important for us… To find a world in which people really aren’t allowed in and how you get in can be complicated. And the partisanship, who’s important and who’s in and who’s out and why—[that’s true] for both DC and the Greek system. To merge those two was super fun for us.
We also had a writer on staff who was in a secret society who was incredibly helpful to us. We also talked to lots of people and we did our own research and used what we felt were the best parts of it all.
What were you looking for when casting these characters? Especially with the nature of the show and the weight each character holds?
Sara: It was a tall order. We wanted to differentiate ourselves from the movie, and at the same time, we wanted those characters to be as iconic as they were. They have to be able to do the comedy, they have to be able to have that sexuality and that chemistry.
In an ongoing series, they need to have the depth and humanity that makes you care and makes you want to keep watching them and wonder how they got to be, how they are or where they might go next and what boundaries they might cross and if they have hearts to be broken. When we found Sarah (Catherine Hook) and Zac (Burgess), there was just no question that they were it for us. It was so exciting. I mean, the entire ensemble is amazing, so I think that’s one of the most fun parts for us was finding those young actors.
What character dynamics from the ensemble did you have fun getting to flesh out in the script and on-screen?
Phoebe: I think we both love the dynamic between our Sarah’s—Sarah Catherine Hook and Sarah Silva, who are Caroline and Cece. I think they have such a great dynamic and they’re the real love story of the show. And the boys—John (Harlan Kim), Zac, and Khobe (Clarke), have such funny different dynamics between all three of them. It’s a real treat when you get to see them all together. They all have very specific dynamics that we’re looking forward to exploring more.
With a remake of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and now ‘Cruel Intentions’ under your belt, what is the best part of getting to resurrect these cult classics?
Sara: I think for ‘Cruel’ especially, it’s to take all of that spirit and that tone and that boundary-pushing fun and bring it into a time where we don’t get to see that much of that on TV right now. That was super fun, to push these characters and their language and their behavior and just have a good time with it all over again.
Catch season 1 of ‘Cruel Intentions’ on Prime Video
