Posted in: CBS, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV | Tagged: bleeding cool, books, cable, cbs, clarice, Devyn A. Tyler, hannibal, Kal Penn, Lecter, Lucca de Oliveira, michael cudlitz, Nick Sandow, novels, preview, Rebecca Breeds, streaming, teaser, television, The Silence Of The Lambs, thomas harris, trailer, tv

Clarice EP Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet On Silence of the Lambs Spinoff

Earlier this month, CBS gave a series order for The Silence of the Lambs sequel Clarice starring Rebecca Breeds (Home and Away, Pretty Little Liars) as FBI Agent Clarice Starling. Set in 1993 (six months after The Silence of the Lambs), the series is a deep dive into the untold personal story of brilliant and vulnerable 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. Based on characters and situations from Thomas Harris' novels, the series also stars Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira, Devyn A. Tyler, and Kal Penn, and stems from executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Now, Kurtzman and Lumet are explaining how the series came to be while also cluing in interested viewers and fans of the literary and film franchises as to what they can expect.

Penn's Emin Grigoryan is an agent with a Ph.D. in library science. Emin is the conduit between the Fly Team and ViCAP's growing database, as opposed to Clarice's unique knowledge of Behavioral Sciences. A former curator for the Smithsonian, FBI is, for him, a second career. With expertise in all things archival, from insects to ancient manuscripts to missing children. Grigoryan has the unique ability to make the dryest patterns of forensic evidence feel like they came from Dante.

Cudlitz's Paul Krendler is the leader of the VICAP Fly Team who grew up in the second-best house in the second-best neighborhood in Hershey, PA. His father was an executive at Hershey Park, but Paul hated "The Sweetest Place on Earth" with a vehemence. A truly gifted investigator for the Department of Justice with solid legal skills, Krendler is also wily and sensitive to the shifting political winds.

Sandow's Murray Clarke is Clarice's chief hazer. A heavy smoker, a bit out of shape, and slow to move in the office, Clarke is still one of an agent's best friends in the field. Hailing from a law enforcement family, Clarke went to Holy Cross on a lacrosse scholarship and a ticket to the FBI. Never made it past field agent, never wanted to. Clarke may like presenting himself as a knock-around guy, but his uncanny ability to sense the truth puts him in a category all his own.

Kurtzman, Lumet, Elizabeth J.B. Klaviter, and Heather Kadin are executive producers for MGM Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout, with Aaron Baiers co-executive producing. Clarice isn't MGM's first attempt at a series: in 2012, the company was working with Lifetime on a series that would focus on the character after graduating from the FBI Academy – but the project did not move forward. No information was released on if the series will use Harris' 1999 sequel novel Hannibal as source material, or move forward with a new storyline. MGM Television, CBS Television Studios, and Secret Hideout are set to produce the series.

"After more than 20 years of silence, we're privileged to give voice to one of America's most enduring heroes – Clarice Starling. 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."

– Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet

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