'Cruel Intentions' showrunners share surprising movie ties in season 1 finale

The Cruel Intentions showrunners Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher has revealed how the TV show connects to the movie.

As the show concluded its first season recently, Goodman and Fisher shared some insights in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

The series follows the story of step siblings Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) and Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook). 

In the finale, Lucien takes revenge on Caroline through a scandalous act involving their stepmother, Claudia (Claire Forlani). However, unlike the movie's ending, Lucien survives in the season.

Fisher said, "We're not done with him yet. I think we didn't literally kill him, but we emotionally may have."

While Goodman added, "You can't kill him after what he just did. There's either redemption or retribution coming for him, or both... I think in an ongoing series, and we really want it to be an ongoing series, that love triangle and those relationships have just begun, and so we're not ready to take him out of them."

Additionally, Fisher and Goodman also confirmed that the series exists in the same universe as the movie.

"The Merteuils are in the world somewhere," Fisher said.

Goodman added, "Yes, they live in the same world. [The movie] was just 25 years ago."