CBS Gives Series Commitment To ‘Silence Of the Lambs’ Sequel Series ‘Clarice’ From Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet
CBS has given a series commitment to a new ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ sequel series, titled ‘Clarice’, from Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet the US network has announced.
Set in 1993, the drama follows FBI Agent Clarice Starling a year after the events of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. The series is described as a is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Clarice Starling as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C.
The project is written and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Secret Hideout’s Heather Kadin will also serve as an executive producer along with Aaron Baiers as co-executive producer. The series will be produced by MGM and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout.
“After more than 20 years of silence, we’re privileged to give voice to one of America’s most enduring heroes – Clarice Starling,” commented Kurtzman and Lumet in a statement. “Clarice’s bravery and complexity have always lit the way, even as her personal story remained in the dark. But hers is the very story we need today: her struggle, her resilience, her victory. Her time is now, and always.”
If you are trying to place the names Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout, they are the people behind the growing ‘Star Trek’ universe on CBS All Access, including the critically acclaimed and award-winning ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, and the upcoming ‘Star Trek: Picard’. He is also an executive producer on ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and previously EPed shows such as ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and ‘Alias’.
Lumet is the author of ‘Rachel Getting Married’ for which she received the New York Film Critics Circle Award, Toronto Film Critics Association Award, and Washington, D.C. Film Critics Association Award. She also received the NAACP Image Award. She is an executive producer on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, and a consulting producer on ‘Star Trek: Picard’. Additionally, she authored the Short Trek ‘Runaway’ with Kurtzman.
Together, writing partners Kurtzman and Lumet are currently the co-creators and co-showrunners of upcoming CBS All Access series ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’.
This is not, of course, the first time Thomas Harris’ novel series have been converted to screen. There was the first adaptation in 1986 with the movie ‘Manhunter’, followed by the multi-Oscar-winning ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ in 1991 in with Jodie Foster played the role of Clarice. Further adaptations followed with ‘Red Dragon’ in 2002 and ‘Hannibal Rising’ in 2007. There was then the critically-acclaimed ‘Hannibal’ TV series which ran from 2013 to 2015.
Although CBS has said they are giving a series commitment to ‘Clarice’, there has been a pilot script written, and that will be shot before a final green light is given to a full series. However, there is a lot of enthusiasm for the project at the network, and with Kurtzman behind it, it seems unlikely they would want to pull the order. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
