The 18th century French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” has withstood dozens of adaptations to stage and screen, including the prestigious 1988 film “Dangerous Liaisons” and the cheesy yet beloved 1999 teen film “Cruel Intentions.”
With Sony Pictures Television and Prime Video’s new eight-part “Cruel Intentions” series remake, author Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ story finally hits the wall. Here, both setting and story seem outdated, with the writers’ bids to stay true to skeevier elements of the novel and (especially) 1999 movie conflicting with attempts to update storylines for a modern audience.
The show opens at a stately, vaguely Southern-looking mansion filled with overdressed young women — a promising start for fans of the similarly sorority-set “Scream Queens” or of “American Horror Story: Coven,” or even “The Bachelor.”