Cruel Intentions TV Series With Sarah Michelle Gellar Won’t Be Happening

Back in February it was announced that NBC had given the green light to a TV series based around the cult 199 movie Cruel Intentions, and shortly afterwards one of the stars of the movie, Sarah Michelle Gellar, announced on Instagram that she was happy to be joining the cast once again playing Kathryn Merteuil. It appears now however that the series won’t be moving forward.

According to Deadline, the options on the cast are up next week, and there are no plans to renew it. The series has had issues from the get-go however, including from NBC who left the project last May. At that point Sony picked up the options with plans to possible sell the series back to NBC as a summer replacement show, but when that didn’t happen NBC eventually passed on the pilot in October. Sony had been shopping it to other outlets, but no one wanted to take a chance on it. 

The TV series was supposed to take place over 15 years after the film ended, and follow Merteuil as she vies for control of Valmont International. Also in her sights is Bash Casey (Taylor John Smith), the son of her stepbrother, the late Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) and Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), who is introduced to a world of sex, money, power and corruption after finding his dad’s journal.

There is a chance the series could still come back in a different format, but as of now the project is officially dead in the water.