The small-screen adaptation of Cruel Intentions has met an untimely end.
Amazon Prime Video has officially canceled the Cruel Intentions TV series after just one season, it has exclusively learned. The series, which debuted on the streaming platform in November 2024, served as a television update to the 1999 cult classic film of the same name, itself inspired by the novel Dangerous Liaisons.
The journey to bring Cruel Intentions to television was a long one. The project was initially developed at IMDb TV (later rebranded as Freevee) in 2021 before receiving a formal series order at Prime Video in late 2023.
The cast featured Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, Savannah Lee Smith, Sara Silva, John Harlan Kim, Khobe Clarke, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Brooke Lena Johnson. Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher served as co-showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of Original Film also executive produced alongside Roger Kumble, who wrote and directed the original Cruel Intentions film. Additional producers included Bruce Mellon, Andrea Iervolino, and Monika Bacardi of Iervolino & Bacardi Entertainment. The series was a collaboration between Sony Pictures Television, Amazon MGM Studios, and Original Film.
Set at the elite Manchester College near Washington, D.C., the series followed two ambitious step-siblings, Caroline Merteuil (Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Burgess), as they navigated a ruthless social hierarchy where reputation reigned supreme. When a hazing scandal threatened the entire Greek life system, the pair schemed to maintain their power, even if it meant manipulating Annie Grover (Smith), the daughter of the U.S. Vice President. The series promised a world of deception, broken hearts, and shifting loyalties.
Amazon does not typically disclose viewership figures, making it unclear how many viewers tuned in. However, the series failed to appear on Nielsen’s Top 10 Streaming charts and struggled to gain critical acclaim, holding a 24% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews.
This is not the first time a Cruel Intentions TV adaptation has failed to gain traction. In 2016, NBC ordered a pilot for a sequel to the original film, with Sarah Michelle Gellar reprising her role as Kathryn Merteuil, though it was never picked up for a full series. Before that, Fox attempted a Cruel Intentions prequel series, which was scrapped before airing. The unaired episodes were later compiled into the 2001 direct-to-video film Cruel Intentions 2. A second sequel, Cruel Intentions 3, followed in 2004.
Despite multiple attempts to bring the Cruel Intentions universe to television, its transition from film to TV has remained elusive.
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