Sarah Michelle Gellar Explains Why She’s “Grateful” NBC’s ‘Cruel Intentions’ TV Series Didn’t Happen
Sarah Michelle Gellar is “grateful” that the NBC TV reboot of Cruel Intentions never got off the ground, sharing that she believes it’s better suited for streaming than a broadcast network.
Speaking about her time on the NBC series, which got a pilot order in February 2016 before being shelved in October of that same year, Gellar said the network and concept weren’t a good fit.
“I don’t know. That was a whole crazy time,” the actress and Wolf Pack executive producer said. “Nothing against NBC, but Cruel Intentions is straight streaming.
On the first day, I was like, ‘This isn’t working.’ It’s just not a network show. And if it is a network show, it’s not my Cruel Intentions. So, I was actually grateful.”
The series was supposed to be set over 15 years after the events of the 1999 movie, following Kathryn as she vied for control of the family business Valmont International and Bash Casey, the soul of her step-brother, the late Sebastian Valmont, who was played by Ryan Phillippe.
During the interview, she also spoke about her experiences as a younger actress in Hollywood. Gellar had been acting since the ’80s but rose to TV fame as the titular character in Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
After the show’s creator faced allegations of abusive and unprofessional behavior, some of which Whedon has denied, Gellar shared a statement in support of “all survivors of abuse,” and stated she was “proud of them for speaking out.”
Gellar, however, has remained largely quiet about her own experiences. While speaking to the Times, she says that’s an active choice and one she makes because talking publicly about them isn’t a winning situation for her in a victim-blaming culture.