Why Prime Video Canceled Cruel Intentions After One Season

At this point, it’s safe to say that the “Cruel Intentions” franchise has experienced more downs than ups. The original 1999 movie, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as a pair of spoiled, incestuous step-siblings, is a bona fide cult classic that scored big at the box office, but the same can’t be said about the direct-to-video sequels, which are largely forgotten these days. Unfortunately, the story hasn’t found success as a streaming show either, with Variety reporting that the Prime Video series is no more. Cue The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” and let the waterworks flow.

The latest iteration of “Cruel Intentions” follows the elite students of Manchester College, a Washington-based academic institution where everyone wants to rule the social food chain. However, none of the students are more cunning or ruthless than Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess), a pair of rotten step-siblings who set out to seduce the college president’s daughter after a hazing incident goes awry and risks ruining their reps.

The remake has all the ingredients for a saucy drama about despicable brats doing awful things and, hopefully, getting their comeuppance. So, what led to “Cruel Intentions” being added to the myriad number of shows that were canceled after one season?

The “Cruel Intentions” series was a streaming hit in 2024, but it seems that its popularity waned rather quickly. While Prime Video has yet to provide an official reason for the show’s cancelation, the Variety report notes that “Cruel Intentions” failed to make an impression in the Nielsen streaming charts. With that in mind, it’s safe to assume that the series didn’t gain enough viewers to justify the cost of producing a second installment.

“Cruel Intentions” didn’t fare well among critics either, as evidenced by its low 24% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The show was criticized for lacking the envelope-pushing bite of the original movie, even though it was quite well-received by viewers, who gave it a high 81% approval rating. Sadly, that audience score wasn’t strong enough to make the folks at Prime Video feel inclined to make more episodes.

If there’s one positive to glean from the situation, it’s that the Prime Video series made it to the screen at all. A previous “Cruel Intentions” TV series was canceled before it even aired, with Fox bucking to the pressures of angry parents who were unhappy with its risque content. However, the show was edited down and released as the “Cruel Intentions 2” movie, which, despite being promoted as a sequel, actually takes place before the events of the original film.