The cast of the new Cruel Intentions TV show has big shoes to fill — and they seem more than up for the challenge.
Based on a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos‘ novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the original Cruel Intentions film was released in 1999. The movie told the story of Annette (Reese Witherspoon), who became a pawn in a sexual conquest wager between step siblings Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
“Obviously, we knew people would be excited by it, but I read that script and I was so desperate to be a part of it,” Gellar exclusively told Us Weekly in 2021, referring to the movie’s cult following. “And I’ve loved it forever. I’ve seen every iteration, every Broadway version.”
Gellar said she was supportive of the material because she thought it “was so mature for a younger audience, that [filmmakers] were finally getting that we didn’t need to be talked down to. That it was about actually [how] we were capable of understanding so much more.”
Initial plans to first adapt Cruel Intentions for the small screen morphed into the 2000 film sequel Cruel Intentions 2, and later a third movie titled Cruel Intentions 3. There was another attempt to create a television version in 2015 —with Gellar reprising her role — but the filmed pilot was never picked up. Prime Video later announced their version of a Cruel Intentions series starring Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess and Savannah Lee Smith in the titular roles.
Burgess, who plays Lucien, threw Us for a loop when he revealed that he didn’t watch the original movie in preparation for the show.
“I sit in a bit of a unique position. I haven’t seen the movie,” he shared with Us in November 2024 before the first season debuted on Prime Video. “So I was a little bit fortunate that it was more of a purposeful choice.”
Burgess didn’t want his scenes to feel too similar to Phillippe, adding, “I didn’t want to replicate Ryan’s performance because it is a cult classic and he did such a wonderful job the first time. It’s a new chapter to the series.”
Keep scrolling to see how the cast of the Cruel Intentions series compares to their counterparts from the original film:
