In theory, nothing could be more exciting to me than CBS making a Silence of the Lambs spinoff series called Clarice.
Simply put, CBS makes binge-worthy crime drama, and there’s no better class of criminal than those created by author Thomas Harris. So why my negativity?
The four key reasons why CBS are destined to fail:
- CBS, for simplicity and mainstream ratings, make the series into just another crime show. Criminals are caught in each episode, and a likable bunch of costars are dazzled weekly by the brilliance of Clarice. Boring.
- The biggest reason CBS is destined to fail with the Silence of the Lambs Clarice series is because of Jodie Foster. She is irreplaceable. Worst case scenario, CBS cast poorly. Best case scenario, comparisons to Jodie Foster. Either way, it’s a lose-lose situation, because Jodie’s Clarice will ultimately be better.
- Even if CBS cast the role well, Clarice in the ’90s wrote with 2020 sensibilities will not fit The Silence of the Lambs‘ universe. This makes reason No. 1 even more likely.
- In 2012, Lifetime announced they were creating a series about Clarice, but it was binned. A lot can go wrong between announcement and series pickup, so we could still end up with nothing if anything goes bad in production or pilot reactions are poor.
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What we know about Clarice so far
- Clarice is likely to anchor CBS’s 2020-2021 season.
- The script is allegedly complete.
- The series is set in 1993, one year after The Silence of the Lambs.
- Clarice is the untold personal story of the lead character as she pursues serial murderers, predators, and navigates Washington.
- The TV series Hannibal wanted the rights from MGM to include Clarice Starling in the show’s fifth season, but it was canceled.
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People behind the spinoff
- Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek: Picard) and Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married), writers and showrunners.
- Heather Kadin (Star Trek: Picard) and Aaron Baiers (Star Trek: Picard), co-executive producers.
Our money is on Ellen Page getting the lead role, but not even she could fill Jodie Foster’s boots.
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