Cruel Intentions

Prime Video's Cruel Intentions, created by Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman, updates the 1999 film to a modern-day setting. This drama series, which premiered on November 21, 2024, follows Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and her stepbrother Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) as they navigate the ruthless social hierarchy at an elite Washington, D.C. university. The show also stars Savannah Lee Smith as Annie Grover, the Vice President's daughter, and features a supporting cast including Sara Silva, John Harlan Kim, and Khobe Clarke. All eight episodes of the single season dropped at once, earning a 6.7/10 rating from 133 votes. The series carries a TV-MA rating for its mature themes, including hazing and manipulation. Despite its short run, the show sparked discussion for its bold take on privilege and power in the nation's capital.

Shot primarily in Atlanta doubling for D.C., the production brought back Roger Kumble, director of the original film, as an executive producer. The series was canceled after one season, with no plans for continuation.[bearbeiten]

Caroline Merteuil runs the most powerful sorority at an elite Washington, D.C. university, where her family's political dynasty depends on maintaining perfect control. When a pledge dies during a hazing ritual, Caroline must use every trick she knows to protect her father's Senate career and her own ambitions.

Her stepbrother Lucien Belmont gets pulled into the cover-up, but his growing feelings for Annie Grover, the Vice President's daughter, start pulling him in a different direction. Annie arrives at the university with her own moral compass, but Caroline's manipulation slowly draws her into the web. Cece Carroway, Caroline's loyal best friend, begins to question the lengths they're going to. Meanwhile, Professor Hank Chadwick senses something rotten in the Greek system, and journalist Beatrice Worth digs into the story.

Across eight episodes, the season tracks the cover-up and its psychological toll on everyone involved. Blaise Powell, a fraternity president with his own agenda, becomes both an ally and a threat. Scott Russell, a scholarship student caught between his principles and his ambitions, finds himself in over his head. The narrative builds toward a confrontation between those protecting the status quo and those seeking the truth, exploring how privilege and power corrupt even the young.[bearbeiten]