It’s been almost five years since Hannibal aired its final episode, but now the other half of the Silence of the Lambs‘ duo of lead characters is getting her TV own series as well. Via Deadline, CBS has announced that Clarice, an ongoing series about F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling, will air in the 2020-2021 season. Pretty Little Liars’ Rebecca Breeds portrays Clarice.
Jodie Foster, of course, originated the role. She won her second Academy Award for it. Julianne Moore later played Starling in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal a decade later. The new show will be executive produced by Star Trek: Picard’s Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet.
Warner Brothers
CBS released an official synopsis for the series, describing Clarice as “a deep dive into the untold personal story of brilliant and vulnerable FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, six months after the events of The Silence of the Lambs.” This suggests to me that the show will be in continuity with the movie. That doesn’t bode well for anyone who was hoping for an crossovers with the dearly departed Hannibal. Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler will also star.
The big question about the show is mostly in regards to continuity. If it follows the original film’s continuity, then it could either lead up to the events of the 2001 version of Hannibal or just outright ignore it. Thomas Harris’ novel Hannibal is also very different from the movie, so maybe they’ll head towards that version of events instead? It is also possible that they can’t use or reference Hannibal Lecter. Bryan Fuller and the producers of the 2013-2015 Hannibal TV series couldn’t use the character of Clarice Starling. Somehow the rights to her character were separate.
Orion Pictures
A ’90s-set series featuring a young female F.B.I. agent hunting down serial killers sounds like a surefire hit. Even if they can’t show or mention certain cannibalistic murderers. It will also be interesting to see if this plays out like a normal CBS procedural that just happens to feature a well known character. Maybe it will become something more complex and with a season long narrative. Fingers crossed that this proves to be as interesting and ultimately surprising as the Hannibal series.
Featured Image: Orion Pictures
