Cruel Intentions Is Officially Dead In The Water

cruel intentions nbc

Every year, the networks put together a slew of projects and pilots in order to figure out what types of shows would be the best fit for the following season's freshman lineup. One of the highest projects to crop up last season was a Cruel Intentions TV remake that was set to star Sarah Michelle Gellar. There were even racy photos from the set that cropped up, but the TV sequel didn't make it to the schedule this fall. This week, it's been confirmed that Cruel Intentions is finally and definitely dead in its tracks.

Since the show didn't premiere this fall and didn't come together for midseason, there was a reasonable expectation that the Cruel Intentions series, which would have picked up 15 years after Sebastian's death when Kathryn would be working to gain control of Valmont International, would not be moving forward. Previously, NBC had extended the contracts of the major characters in June and it looked as if the project could move forward sometime down the line. Budgets and potential time slots were reworked and for a short time there was an opportunity for Cruel Intentions to come together, after all. As happens sometimes with movies and TV shows, it just didn't.

By October, NBC decided Cruel Intentions wasn't a good fit, but Sony still felt the premise had some merit. Per Deadline, the company was shopping the potential series around. That is, until this month, and only now can we say the TV spinoff is officially done for. Down the line, that may not turn out to be totally true, though, as there have been some feelers out for a retooling with a different business. By now you might think the concept should be totally done with, but in Hollywood nothing is really dead.

Of course, even without the Cruel Intentions reboot, there are a ton of revivals, reboots and spinoffs in the works right now. Some of them, including Lethal Weapon and Fuller House, have already made it to air. This spring will see Taken, Training Day and more hit the airwaves. New projects are in development for the 2017-2018 TV season already, as well. Soon, the Cruel Intentions spinoff will be just a faint memory, although we'd love to see Sarah Michelle Gellar back on TV in a regular role again. Her last major role was in the short-lived sitcom The Crazy Ones.

While a lot of TV programs have wrapped up for the winter break, midseason has been coming earlier and earlier---especially on network TV. A slew of shows are hitting the schedule this winter. You can check out what did get a pick-up with our midseason TV premiere schedule.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.