“Where do you think Kathryn Merteuil is right now? After her public humiliation on the steps of Manchester Prep, where did she go?”
That simple question — with an undoubtedly complicated answer — was the genesis for NBC’s Cruel Intentions revival, executive producer Jordan Ross told TVLine last month during a visit to our Comic-Con interview suite (presented by ZTE).
The pilot picks up nearly two decades after the events of the 1999 film, as Bash Casey — the secret son of Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon, played in the series by Kate Levering) and the late Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) — turns to his estranged aunt Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) for answers about his past.
“She’s incredible,” Ross said of Gellar’s performance. “She just steps back into that role. Kathryn’s [as] manipulative as ever, but she’s maybe a little bit more calculated. She’s learned her lesson from what happened 17 years ago. So every move she makes is a little more subtle until, finally, she makes her move.”
Though NBC is currently exploring multiple options for the series’ release — including a possible streaming-only rollout — Ross told us he’s keeping his fingers crossed for a Summer 2017 premiere. (Come on, the #CruelSummer hashtag practically tweets itself!)
Hit PLAY on our interview above, then drop a comment below: What are your hopes for the Cruel Intentions series?
