Rapid Insights: Cruel Intentions Shows Why Antiheroes Resonate in Reimagined IP

Who’s been tuning in for this TV show remake? 
We’re seeing a viewership that’s mostly women (66%) and mostly aged 30+ (67%). While this gender skew is typical of other teen drama fare, Cruel Intentions runs a bit older than similar streaming titles like 13 Reasons Why, The Society, One of Us Is Lying, Pretty Liars: Original Sin, Gossip Girl (2021), and Elite (all 47-59% aged 30+)–suggesting that late-90s fans of the original movie may be joining the audience.

Is the 1999 film important in getting viewers to check out the show? 
Absolutely. The fact that Cruel Intentions is based on the Gellar/Philippe/Witherspoon cult classic movie–and includes parallel characters for each of the original roles–is its #4 overall ratings driver (IP Extension, 124).

What does the show keep from the movie?
The diabolical stepsiblings at its center. As in the film before it, Cruel Intentions the series revolves around a pair of manipulative Antiheroes (133)–here renamed as Caroline and Lucien–in a semi-incestuous Stepsibling Relationship (125). These two pull the strings of power and rule their prestigious private school. When Femme Fatale (117) Caroline tasks sly lothario Lucien with seducing an innocent classmate, he accidentally develops genuine feelings that complicate her plans (Romantic Conflict, 122). These similarities, along with tense feelings of Surprise (133) and Contempt (122) throughout, are all key drivers of bingeability; the same story elements that made the film so compulsively watchable are working for this remake.

How is this new show different from the movie? 
It widens its lens. Where the film was set in high school, the show ages up the characters to explore well-known facets of College Life (138), offering up a broader commentary on the dubious world of fraternities, sororities, hazing, and Bullying (123). Similarly, Lucien’s seduction challenge in the film stems simply from a bet between bored teenagers, but the series incorporates a deeper motive: Caroline’s Ambition & Drive (114), accompanied by an examination of teenage power and status. Caroline needs Lucien’s efforts to preserve her place atop the social hierarchy, and his victim-turned-love-interest is no longer merely the headmaster’s daughter but the daughter of the US Vice President, raising the stakes and skewering High Society (126) more directly. These drivers all contribute to the show’s ratings, suggesting that fans are tuning in for its brand new take on the movie’s delicious tale of dark Romantic Obsession (127).

How does the show’s social buzz look? 
Strong. The late-October trailer drop resulted in an “outstanding”-level spike (to 135). The first season’s release on November 21 maxed out our social buzz meter (to 160), where it stayed for over a week. It is still hovering in “outstanding” territory (at 126) nearly three weeks later, suggesting comfortable longevity for a show following an all-at-once release plan.