A 2024 Amazon Prime Video series, Cruel Intentions, was released on November 21, 2024. The series is grounded in the 1999 cult classic film, Cruel Intentions. The original was inspired by Les Liaisons Dangereuses authored by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
The film, Cruel Intentions belonged to the teen romantic drama genre and featured Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Selma Blair. The film's plot is about step-siblings, Sebastian and Kathryn who make a bet where the former has to seduce Annette.
The series, Cruel Intentions stars Sarah Cathrine Hook, Savannah Lee Smith, and Zac Burgess. The plot is about step-siblings, Caroline and Lucien who make a bet to save their Greek organizations. To win the bet, Lucien has to seduce Annie.
While both the film and series have a similar core plot, there are many differences between the two. Since the film is more than two decades old, certain changes have been made to the series to make it suit contemporary times.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the film Cruel Intentions and the series of the same name.
Exploring the similarities between the Cruel Intentions TV show and film?
Here are some similarities between the series and the film.
1) Plot similarities
While the film, Cruel Intentions and the series of the same name differ in more ways than they are similar, the core plot of both stories remains the same. In the film and series, a pair of step-siblings set up a wager.
In both stories, if Lucien/Sebastian wins Kathryn/Caroline will sleep with him and if he loses Kathryn/ Caroline will win his car. Both stories involve an innocent girl, Annette/Annie who gets caught up in the middle of the step-sibling's bet.
2) Caroline's drug use
In the series and the film, Cruel Intentions, Caroline/Kathryn's character is shown abusing drugs specifically cocaine. Both characters in the film and series self-medicate using cocaine while putting up the facade of a good girl.
3) Sean Patrick Thomas
Both the film and series titled Cruel Intentions feature Sean Patrick Thomas. While Sean Patrick Thomas plays the role of Ronald Clifford, in the series, he plays the role of Professor Hank Chadwick. In the series and film, Thomas's character is shown to be involved with CeCe/Cecile and Caroline/Kathryn.
Exploring the major differences between the Cruel Intentions TV show and film?
Here are a few differences between the plots of the film and the series.
1) Change in names and timelines
The major difference between the series and the film is the changes in the character's names. In the film, Kathryn has become Caroline, Sebastian is Lucien, Annette is Annie, Cecile is CeCe, and Blaine is Blaise.
While the film was set in the summer before the character's senior year in high school, the series takes place while the characters are in college.
2) The series focuses on Greek organizations
The Cruel Intentions series focuses significantly on fraternities and sororities. The film's plot focuses solely on Annette and the bet made by Sebastian and Kathryn. Set in a Washington D.C. college, the series is about wealthy students who are heavily invested in their Greek organizations.
In the series, Caroline serves as the president of the Delta Phi sorority. Lucien serves as the treasurer of Alpha Gamma where Blaise is a social chair. The plot of the story revolves around an anti-Greek movement in their college which is organized by Beatrice Worth.
In the series, Caroline targets Annie due to a hazing incident gone wrong and the anti-Greek movement. The Greek organizations on campus are at risk including Lucien and Caroline's fraternity and sorority.
Caroline believes since Annie Grover is the Vice President's daughter, whichever sorority she chooses will be safe. This is why Caroline and Lucien make a wager so they can save their societies.
3) Lucien's death
In the Cruel Intentions film, Sebastian dies in the end when he is run over by a car. Ronald confronts Sebastian which leads to a fight between the two. While trying to break up their fight, Annette is pushed on the road.
As a car is about to hit Annette, Sebastian pushes her out of harm's way and gets hit instead. At the end of the film during Sebastian's funeral, Annette distributes copies of Sebastian's journal which includes details about his and Kathryn's bet and Kathryn's drug use.
This ultimately leads to Kathryn's reputation being destroyed. In the series, Lucien does not die. Since the series may come back for a second season, we can safely assume this is why Lucien does not die.
Since Lucien keeps tapes instead of journals, he sends Caroline a tape of him having sex with Caroline's mother. He does this to get back at Caroline since he is aware of the strained relationship between her and her mother. The series ends with Lucien driving away while he ignores Caroline and Annie's calls.
4) Annie being the Vice President's daughter
In the movie, Cruel Intentions, Annette Hargrove is shown to be the daughter of the new headmaster. Annette's equivalent in the show is Annie Grover. Annie Grover in the series is shown to be the Vice President's daughter.
With Annie being the Vice President's daughter, the bet between Lucien and Caroline becomes much more high stakes than the bet between Sebastian and Kathryn.
5) Purpose of the bet
In the film, Sebastian and Kathryn set a wager targetting Annette Hargrove as Sebastian is tired of seducing just anyone and is seeking a challenge. Since Annette is strongly against sex without love, Sebastian sees her as a challenge which will be his ultimate victory.
Kathryn sets a bet with Sebastian stating that if he can seduce Annette, Kathryn will finally have sex with Sebastian but if he fails to do so then Kathryn will win Sebastian's vintage car. In the film, the purpose of the bet is for Kathryn to entertain herself.
In the series Cruel Intentions, the purpose of the bet is different. Since Caroline's Greek organization is under threat of being shut down, Caroline encourages Lucien to seduce Annie so they can get her to join Delta Phi and save it from shutting down.
Caroline agrees to sleep with Lucien if he is successful in seducing Annie. In the series, Caroline sets up the wager to keep her sorority from shutting down, unlike the film where Kathryn sets the wager to entertain herself.
6) Lucien's Tapes
In the film, Cruel Intentions, Sebastian keeps a journal where he draws and writes about the bet, the women he sleeps with, and Kathryn's secrets. This is different in the series as Lucien does not keep journals but tapes.
He uploads the tapes to a file he shares with Caroline. Caroline uses the videos as she pleases. In the series, Lucien uploads every tape except the one with Annie as he truly falls for her.
In the film, Sebastian's journal helps destroy Kathryn's reputation after his death but in the series, Lucien's tapes are used by Caroline to destroy him. Later in the series, Lucien uses his tapes to hurt Caroline when he sends her a video of him with Caroline's mother.
7) CeCe and Cecile
CeCe is Cecile's equivalent in the series. In the film, Kathryn uses Cecile's innocent nature to manipulate her as Cecile is the current girlfriend of Kathryn's ex-boyfriend who left Kathryn due to her promiscuity.
Kathryn corrupts Cecile with Sebastian's help and encourages her to be promiscuous. Sebastian helps Kathryn manipulate Cecile as he finds out that her mother warned Annette about his reputation. Kathryn also sees the spark between Cecile and her music teacher, Ronald, and uses that against Cecile.
In the series Cruel Intentions, CeCe is shown to be Caroline's best friend even though Caroline only sees CeCe as a pawn. In the series, CeCe is not as naive and innocent as Cecile. CeCe in the series becomes Professor Chadwick's TA.
This does not sit right with Caroline as she believes CeCe being a TA is making her focus less on the sorority. This makes Caroline go to extreme lengths to get CeCe removed as a TA.
8) Blaise and Blaine
In the film Cruel Intentions, Blaine is shown to be Sebastian's friend and weed dealer. Blaine has a limited role in the series. He sleeps with Annette's friend and football star, Greg McConnell. Blaine helps Sebastian blackmail Greg.
Sebastian blackmails Greg as he believes Greg told Annette about Sebastain's promiscuous reputation. In the series, Blaise has a bigger role. Blaise guides Scott Russell when the latter joins Alpha Gamma and they begin a relationship.
Blaise manipulates Scott due to the latter's naive nature and uses him to embezzle from the fraternity after he helps Scott become president of the fraternity. Blaise does this as he is in trouble financially and his parents are in debt with the college. Blaise is finally kicked out of the fraternity as Lucien finds out what he's up to.
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Cruel Intentions is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
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