The ‘90s Are Back! ‘Cruel Intentions’ TV Series Details: How to Watch, Release Date, Cast, More

The ‘90s have returned to television, with reboots to shows including That ‘70s Show, Saved By the Bell and more. However, movies from that decade have also been revisited for small-screen projects, and fans of the original 1999 romance drama Cruel Intentions are thrilled that there will be a TV series based on the cult classic for streaming! 

Keep reading to learn everything we know about the upcoming Cruel Intentions show. 

What Is the ‘Cruel Intentions’ Movie About? 

The film focuses on New York City-based private prep school student Annette, who published an essay with Seventeen Magazine that promoted the concept of chastity until marriage. Upon seeing the headmaster’s daughter’s beliefs, wealthy stepsiblings Kathryn and Sebastian make a bet: if Sebastian can seduce Annette, Kathryn will sleep with him; if he fails, Kathryn automatically receives his expensive vintage Jaguar. 

Despite the ~cruel~ bet, Sebastian begins to fall in love with Annette, thereby redirecting him away from any attraction to Kathryn. Soon, the three face their own individual pitfalls, which eventually entwine in the film’s dramatic end. 

The movie is based on the French 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (roughly translated to “dangerous liaisons” or “dangerous relationships”). 

While the upcoming series’ plot has not been revealed, fans are hoping it will align with the film’s original storyline. 

When Is the ‘Cruel Intentions’ TV Series’ Release Date? 

Cruel Intentions’ release date has not yet been revealed. Amazon ordered the eight-episode show in April 2023, per Variety. 

Where to Watch ‘Cruel Intentions’ 

Since Amazon is the distributor that ordered the series, viewers assumed that it would stream on Amazon Prime. However, multiple outlets report that Cruel Intentions will be released through Freevee, which is Amazon’s free streaming service. 

Previously, the TV adaptation was set to stream on IMDb TV with Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television as producers in 2021, per Variety. The initial plot for the show reportedly followed two stepsiblings who were fixated on remaining at the top of their high school’s social hierarchy. Following a terrible hazing incident, the characters were determined to maintain their reputations by seducing the virgin daughter of the Vice President of the U.S. 

Prior to the 2021 show, an NBC-produced reboot starring original lead actress Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kathryn was scheduled to air in 2016. However, the project was scrapped in the end, which Sarah didn’t object to. 

"Nothing against NBC, but Cruel Intentions is straight streaming," the I Know What You Did Last Summer star told The New York Times in September 2022. "On the first day, I was like, 'This isn't working.' It's just not a network show. And if it is a network show, it's not my Cruel Intentions. So, I was actually grateful."

Who Is in the ‘Cruel Intentions’ Cast? 

Apart from Sarah, the cast of 1999’s Cruel Intentions includes some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including former real-life spouses Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, who married shortly after the film premiered in 1999. In 2006, they went their separate ways in 2006 and eventually finalized their divorce in 2008. 

Sarah and Sebastian portrayed the competitive stepsiblings, while Reese played Annette, the love interest.