Clarice (TV series)

Clarice is a 2021 American crime drama television series created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet and produced by CBS Studios, MGM Television, and Secret Hideout. It is based on the best-selling 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and set between the events of the 1991 film and Hannibal (2001). The series stars Rebecca Breeds as the titular character, along with Lucca De Oliveira, Devyn A. Tyler, Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, and Marnee Carpenter. The series premiered on February 11, 2021, on CBS.

In May 2021, CBS entered negotiations to relocate the series to Paramount+ for its second season. By June, the relocation became "unlikely" to happen.

Main

 * Rebecca Breeds as Clarice Starling
 * Michael Cudlitz as Paul Krendler
 * Lucca De Oliveira as Tomas Esquivel
 * Kal Penn as Shaan Tripathi
 * Nick Sandow as Murray Clarke
 * Devyn A. Tyler as Ardelia Mapp
 * Marnee Carpenter as Catherine Martin

Recurring

 * Shawn Doyle as Clarice's original therapist
 * Jayne Atkinson as United States Attorney General Ruth Martin
 * K. C. Collins as Agent Garrett
 * Tim Guinee as Novak
 * Peter McRobbie as Nils Hagen
 * Douglas Smith as Tyson Conway
 * Simon Northwood as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb
 * Elizabeth Saunders as Bea Love

Development
In January 2020, CBS Studios hired Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet to create a sequel series to the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.

The series was among the 14 pilot episodes ordered by CBS in February and was fast-tracked to series the following March, as CBS was shut down and unable to film pilot episodes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. CBS picked up the series on May 8 and announced in December a premiere of February 11, 2021, alongside a trailer release. Due to complicated rights issues of franchise characters between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the Dino de Laurentiis Company, the series cannot feature or make reference to Hannibal Lecter. Kurtzman explained, "I'm still trying to understand how the rights are divided. But it's been quite liberating because we have no interest in writing about Hannibal—not because we didn't love the films and the show, but because it was done so well by so many people that it didn't feel fresh for us."

In May 2021, CBS entered negotiations to relocate the series to Paramount+ for its second season. By June, the relocation became "unlikely" to happen. Negotiations between ViacomCBS and co-producer MGM "stalemated", and since CBS had already committed to a full slate of shows, there was no space for Clarice to continue on network television. Industry veterans described the state of affairs as "crazy", where a show already with a new season pickup is facing demise and the prospect of putting 300 people out of work, even though it involves a recognizable intellectual property and Kurzman, a top producer. the show has not been officially canceled.

Casting
Rebecca Breeds was cast as Clarice Starling in February 2020. Lucca De Oliveira and Devyn A. Tyler were cast in starring roles. Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, and Michael Cudlitz joined the main cast. Marnee Carpenter was cast as a series regular while Jayne Atkinson, Shawn Doyle, and Tim Guinee were cast in recurring roles. Douglas Smith joined the cast in a recurring capacity.

Filming
Principal photography for the series began on September 21, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Filming of the first season concluded on March 23, 2021.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 37% based on reviews from 43 critics, with an average rating of 6.11/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Effectively grim, but narratively bland, Clarice is a disturbingly safe procedural that lets down both its talented cast and source material." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".