Amazon has dealt a cruel blow to fans of the teen drama remake of Cruel Intentions
by shelving the series after a single season. Fans of the 1999 movie had been quite on board with this new take on the story, although critics panned it as another unnecessary rehash of a popular franchise that failed to capture anything that made the movie a cult classic.
According to Variety, Cruel Intentions, which took more than three years to make it from its original pitch to screens on Prime Video in November 2024, failed to land a place in the streaming Top 10 during its run, which is probably the biggest reason for its cancelation, but no doubt the dismal 24% from critics didn’t help its cause.
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How the Ending of Prime Video’s ‘Cruel Intentions’ Differs from the Movie
Prime Video’s series adaptation of ‘Cruel Intentions’ is inspired by the original 1999 film, but season one’s finale is almost entirely its own.
For those who have not seen the series, the synopsis reads, “Following the elite students of Manchester College, a Washington, D.C.-adjacent university, where reputation means everything, fraternities and sororities are the gold standard, and two ruthless step-siblings, Caroline Merteuil (Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Burgess), will do anything to stay on top of the cutthroat social hierarchy. After a brutal hazing incident threatens the entire Greek Life system, they’ll do whatever is necessary to preserve their power and reputation – even if that means seducing Annie Grover (Smith), the daughter of the Vice President of the United States. Hearts will be broken, loyalties will be tested, and secrets will be revealed in this modern-day royal court that is Manchester College.”
‘Cruel Intentions’ Probably Didn’t Need the TV Treatment
Columbia Pictures
Sony Pictures Releasing
The original Cruel Intentions film starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon, delivering a storyline centered on privileged teens testing each other’s limits through seduction, manipulation, and deceit. While that film instigated several sequels, it was not exactly a runaway success with critics either. It scored 58% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, still “rotten” although much better than the 24% the TV show managed to pick up. However, audiences approved of both remakes of Dangerous Liaisons equally, with the show scoring 81% and the movie landing 80%.
The series began live as an IMDbTV pitch in 2021, which was eventually picked up by Prime Video in 2023. A year later, the series, which stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, Savannah Lee Smith, and Sean Patrick Thomas, hit Prime Video without the fanfare that was hoped for. Perhaps the writing was always on the wall, as despite the show managing to please those who watched it, there just really weren’t enough watching it to push Prime Video to allow the show a second season. Maybe there are some movies that just don’t need to be re-adapted as a TV series.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
