Joey
It was first announced back in January that CBS had ordered a pilot for ‘Clarice,’ the crime drama based on the character of Clarice Starling, the role created by author Thomas Harris and made famous by Jodie Foster in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ and later by Julianne Moore in the follow-up film, ‘Hannibal.’
Reports identified that the series would be set in 1993, a year after the events of ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ The plot is described as 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, DC.
The role of Clarice Starling wouldn’t take long to fill as, the following month, Australian actress Rebecca Breeds (The Originals) was cast in the titular role. Along with Breeds, Michael Cudlits (The Walking Dead), Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), and Nick Sandow (Orange Is the New Black) were also cast in the pilot.
Later, in May, it was announced that CBS had decided to pick up the series with the original intention to debut in the fall of 2020. These plans were, of course, sidelined due to the global pandemic and the show’s official release became uncertain.
News around the series would cease until early last month when four additional castings were announced. Among the announcements would be series regular, Marnee Carpenter (Wild Oats), in the role of Catherine Martin. Fans of the original film will remember Catherine as the young girl Buffalo Bill abducted and kept in the infamous well before she was rescued by Clarice Starling.
The other three announced castings in recurring roles were Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards) as Ruth Martin, an attorney general and mother of Catherine; Shawn Doyle (The Expanse) as Clarice’s therapist at Quantico; and Tim Guinee (Homeland) as Novak, the leader of a militia group.
Now, we finally have a release date, as CBS just released a trailer and premiere date for Clarice.
During the teaser trailer, we are given a series of flashes related to the original film, including shots of a death’s-head moth, newspaper clippings of Bill’s fifth victim, and, perhaps the most disturbing image in the trailer, a clip of Buffalo Bill himself sewing his skin suit while his poodle, Precious, walks through the shot.
Despite Bill being killed by Clarice at the end of ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ it’s unknown at this time if the character will appear in the series through flashbacks.
Unlike Bill, it seems unlikely that Dr. Hannibal Lecter will make an appearance in the series, as the show will be focusing solely on Clarice and her career as an FBI agent. It seems more likely that the show will involve Clarice going after new suspects rather than chasing down Dr. Lecter.
Clarice will premiere on February 11/2021.
