Cruel Intentionsfollows the students of Manchester College, and the malicious games of seduction they play for their own amusement and the joy of wreaking havoc with people’s lives. The Prime Video series is based on the1999 film of the same name, which is, in turn, based on the 1782 French novel,Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Cruel Intentions' lead characters, Caroline and Lucien (Sarah Catherine Hook and Zac Burgess), are step-siblings who make a bet involving the sexual fate of Annie Grover, the daughter of the Vice President of the United States. As their depraved games get more and more out of hand, with more and more students roped into playing roles as pawns in their plot, the siblings must decide just how far they are willing to go to consolidate their power in Manchester College. While the characters are certainly despicable in their own way,Cruel Intentionsmanages to remain consistently funny due to its tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and satirical edge.
Cruel Intentions Trailer Reveals Sarah Michelle Gellar & Reese Witherspoon Replacements In Remake Series
The Cruel Intentions trailer reveals Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon’s replacements in the remake series coming to Prime Video.
ScreenRantinterviewed Hook and Burgess abouttheir work onCruel Intentions. They spoke about how their characters compare to their counterparts from the 1999 movie, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe, and how they were instructed not to copy those iconic performances in an effort to let the show stand on its own merits. They described the setting as “the timeless present,” right down to the show’s treatment of mobile phones, which really only have one noteworthy use.
Cruel Intentions' Sarah Catherine Hook & Zac Burgess On NOT Copying The 1999 movie
“I still haven’t seen the film… It was a creative choice not to mimic them.”
Screen Rant: It’s a delight to see that you are human beings, actors. This is just a part.
Sarah Catherine Hook: They’re not real people. Yeah, I get it. I get it.
On one hand, we love going, “Oh, these characters are so depraved.” They make, you know, this version makes Ryan Phillippe and Sarah Michelle Gellar look like, you know, Bert and Ernie.
Sarah Catherine Hook: (Laughs) Oh my god, that is, wow. I think, thank you, appreciate that. Wow. I’d have to disagree because I love them, but thank you.
But at the same time, there’s part of us, as viewers, that wants to see these characters make the most depraved choices just to see how it plays out. Is this a feast as an actor to get to be so deliciously cruel?
Zac Burgess: I mean, we don’t get to do it in real life. I mean.
Zac Burgess: If we did, I think we’d probably…
Sarah Catherine Hook: We’d be in jail!
Zac Burgess: No, it’s gold. It’s incredible to be able to dive into something so meaty and just f***** up.
Sarah Catherine Hook: It’s exactly what you just said, though. Like, it’s such a feast and we are just eating it all up and wreaking havoc. It’s the best.
In terms of your performances and in the direction that you get in the direction that you want to take your characters, tell me how you play against, and play with, the versions from the movie and kind of wanting to pay homage without copying and doing your own thing.
Zac Burgess: I had a pretty easy job. I still haven’t seen the film! (Laughs) I’ve seen little snippets here and there on YouTube, but it was a creative choice to not mimic them.
Sarah Catherine Hook: Right. And we were told, right from the start, “Do not copy their performances.” Like, in the audition breakdown, before the roles were even ours, it was to everyone auditioning, “Do not copy.” I think at first, you’re like, wait, what? How else am I supposed to do this? But then it’s so much more creatively fulfilling and liberating to be able to come in with your own ideas and opinions about the character, and being able to take those creative liberties to do that and give them a new voice and a new look and everything.
I was shocked even when they wanted me to be blonde. I was like, “But she’s a redhead in the film! That doesn’t make sense!” Like, you want her blonde? But even little touches like that, I feel those were really strong. And even that just separates it from the movie. We’re very thankful we got to…
Zac Burgess: I didn’t realize she was redhead!
Sarah Catherine Hook: Well, she’s like, it’s auburn, I should say. Not really. Maybe it’s dark brown. I don’t know.
Sarah Catherine Hook: You definitely don’t know! (Laughs)
Sarah Catherine Hook & Zac Burgess On The “Timeless Present” Of Cruel Intentions
“It’s set in modern day, but still has those elements of a story that’s been around for hundreds of years.”
It’s interesting because there’s something at once universal about people of this particular age in this particular situation, where it’s the future leaders of America or whatever. But the story itself is hundreds of years old. Tell me a little bit about playing this very specific, 2024 version of characters, archetypes that go back so many hundreds of years.
Sarah Catherine Hook: Yeah, such a good question and point because what we’ve been saying about this is, this show is set in this timeless present. I, for one, am so glad that our showrunners decided not to really incorporate things like TikTok or even just, like, being on our phones. They wanted our characters to be…
Zac Burgess: In this sort of timeless present.
Sarah Catherine Hook: Yeah. And just not on our phones as much as possible. Like, if we had to make a phone call as the character, fine, but they didn’t want us like texting a lot. Even if we were just waiting for another character to come into the scene, they would rather me reading a book than texting on my phone. Like, they wanted it to be…
Zac Burgess: It takes the emphasis away from the actor.
Sarah Catherine Hook: Absolutely.
Zac Burgess: And you’re, rather than focusing on someone’s performance, you’re focusing on what’s happening on someone’s screen, which you can do anytime.
Sarah Catherine Hook: Yeah. But it was great because it’s set in modern day, but still has those elements of a story that’s been around for hundreds of years. I think that they were really smart to make a point of that, to not modernize it too much that it loses what the story really is and where it comes from.
Zac Burgess: It’s also an incredible and rare opportunity because, I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, there’s seven archetypes that we can’t really escape, seven core archetypes. And this is a world that really focuses on just one of them for the main part, all about gaining power. It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to play with that.
Well said. And phones are for sex tapes. That’s it.
Zac Burgess: Absolutely. A little kink, a little fetish.
More About Cruel Intentions Season 1
Cruel Intentions follows 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 and Lucien Belmont, 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, 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.
Check out our otherCruel Intentionsinterviews here:
All episodes ofCruel Intentionsseason 1 are now streaming on Prime Video.
Cruel Intentions
Cast
Two ambitious step-siblings at a prestigious Washington, D.C. college will stop at nothing to keep their social standing. After a hazing scandal threatens their control, they resort to extreme tactics, including seducing the vice president’s daughter, to safeguard their reputation and influence.
