Cruel Intentions already had a recognizable title, an existing scattered fanbase, and enough scandal to make it buzzworthy. When Cruel Intentions dropped on Prime Video, it felt like the kind of show that knew exactly it was trying to tap into the market. You had elite college drama, step-sibling rivalries, and the type of absurd ambitions that were always fun to watch–especially when it dressed up in super luxurious wardrobes and the always looming threat present.
Despite the silly premise, it was not an original idea behind Cruel Intentions, it was an adaptation of the 1999 movie which had Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe starring in it. But what makes it even more interesting is that the first movie is an adaptation of a French book, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
So yeah, Cruel Intentions didn’t just show up without any presence, it brought decades of seductive storytelling with it. But for all the drama happening onscreen, what happened behind the scenes may have been even more telling. Because just a few months after its release, Amazon quietly put the brakes on a second season. The question is: why?
Prime Video closes the curtains on Cruel Intentions
When Amazon Prime Video unveiled Cruel Intentions in November 2024, it seemed like the streamer was aiming for something long-running, stylish teen drama that could stir up buzz and maybe even some controversy.
The series was created by Phoebe Fisher and Sara Goodman—who previously worked on I Know What You Did Last Summer, executive producers included Neal H. Moritz, who also produced the 1999 film—the series was built taking the same concept from the movie but given more modern social dynamics. The show had all the key elements: a manipulative pair of step-siblings, college sorority, and fraternity drama, and a stylish look that tried to match the drama of the original movie.
The series was made under Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, behind the production, giving the show a fairly strong backing right out of the gate. But it didn’t take long for the viewers’ opinions to speak louder than the show’s marketing and strategy.
According to a report from Variety, Amazon released the full first season—but never shared viewership numbers, which is not something unusual as streaming giants keep doing this. But the show’s absence from the Nielsen Top 10 Streaming charts suggested it wasn’t catching fire.
The reviews weren’t much better. On Rotten Tomatoes, Cruel Intentions received a low score of 24%, based on just 10 critic reviews. While some praised Sarah Catherine Hook for her lead role, most critics thought the writing was weak and the story didn’t feel very exciting.
In the end, Amazon decided not to continue the show. There was no big announcement or official cancellation—just silence. The show ended quietly, without a second season.
Despite it getting the boot quietly, Cruel Intentions wasn’t meant to be a one-season project. The Season 1 finale hinted at something with a much larger story, with power moves and betrayals still very much being the core of the series.
The central arc wrapped around a desperate scheme to keep the Greek system alive at Manchester College—no matter the cost. That included Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) blackmailing Annie (Savannah Lee Smith) into pledging Delta Phi to save the whole thing. While the plan didn’t fully go her way, Caroline still managed to come out on top, ensnaring both Annie and CeCe into her web. The final moments teased a fresh rivalry, as the two girls turned against Caroline from the inside.
Did Cruel Intentions never have plans for a second season?
What made the ending even more interesting was what didn’t happen—Lucien (Zac Burgess) survived. In the 1999 Cruel Intentions film, Ryan Phillippe’s character, Sebastian Valmont, the character that became the framework for Lucien, famously died in the final act, paying the price for his manipulations. But in the series, Lucien lives on, emotionally wrecked but very much a part of the continuing drama.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Phoebe Fisher said:
“We’re not done with him yet… We didn’t literally kill him, but we emotionally may have.” Co-showrunner Sara Goodman added, “There’s either redemption or retribution coming for him, or both.”
Lucien’s arc closes with him abandoning the cruel bet to seduce Annie, instead pretending to reject her in order to not hurt her after falling in love with her. Meanwhile, Annie began to piece together the truth about Caroline, including the betrayal of CeCe.
According to Screen Rant, Fisher and Goodman had plans to continue the story for several more seasons. The idea was to follow the main characters through their entire time in college, all the way to graduation. Each season would represent a new school year, with bigger problems, shifting friendships, and the continued power dynamics theme going strong.
Unfortunately, Prime Video pulled the plug before those plans could unfold. So we’re left with many unanswered questions, the most important one being: who would have come out on top—Caroline, Annie, or Lucien? Now, we’ll never know.
Expected cast of Cruel Intentions if they continued with the series
Cruel Intentions wasn’t designed as a short ride. The show clearly had ambitions to grow across multiple seasons, working towards more layers of deception and power plays as the characters progressed through college.
While the first season placed the spotlight firmly on the twisted sibling duo Caroline (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien (Zac Burgess), along with the morally conflicted Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith), future seasons would’ve allowed the focus to shift just from these characters to something much more.
Assuming that the series had continued, the series could continue on Caroline’s strong control over Manchester’s Greek life, Lucien’s chance at redemption, and Annie’s slow journey into the more dangerous side of sorority life were not over yet. Season 2 also looked ready to focus more on the other characters, giving them a chance to grow, gain power, or even lose it.
CeCe (Sara Silva), for one, had every reason to push back after being stabbed in the back by Caroline. Blaise Powell (John Harlan Kim) and Scott Russell (Khobe Clarke) still had power struggles of their own within the frat scene, and Beatrice (Brooke Lena Johnson) ended Season 1 with a clear reason to burn the whole system down. There was so much potential for better character development and redemption.
Unfortunately, with Prime Video pulling the plug, that next chapter never turned into a script. In the end, Cruel Intentions had a lot going for it. The characters were interesting, the drama was intense, and there was clear room to grow the story. But even with all that, it may have come out at the wrong time. Viewers have already seen many shows about rich, powerful teens and their dark secrets, and this one didn’t feel very new.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
