CBS has released a teaser for the Silence of the Lambs sequel series Clarice, revealing our first look at the upcoming crime drama. Set in 1993, just one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice will "explore 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 brief trailer is limited in what it shows, but it sets the tone for the kind of series Clarice will be. One scene teases police officers responding to an apparent crime scene, followed by a shot of a body being carried out of a lake. "What do you do with all your rage?" an unseen voiceover asks, revealing several quick flashes of the show but stopping short of fully revealing the titular FBI agent.
Taking over the role previously portrayed by Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs, Rebecca Breeds will lead the series as Clarice Starling. Clarice also stars Michael Cudlitz, Lucca de Oliveira, al Penn, Nick Sandow, Devyn Tyler, and Marnee Carpenter. The series was developed for television by Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman, both of whom also executive produce alongside Elizabeth Klaviter and Heather Kadin. MGM Television and CBS Studios are producing in association with Kurtzman's Secret Hideout.
In The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice investigates the serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) with assistance from incarcerated cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). In addition to spawning a series of movies, the Hannibal character was later the star of his own TV series with Mads Mikkelsen as the cannibalistic killer. Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller has said that he hopes to bring Agent Starling into the series if a fourth season ever gets made, though MGM wasn't willing to relinquish the rights to the character with plans for Clarice in the works.
Jodie Foster's performance as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs is widely considered to be among the very best performances of all time, forever making the character one of the greatest heroines in movie history. The role won Foster an Oscar for Best Actress in 1992. Nearly a decade later, Julianne Moore provided her own take on Clarice when stepped into the role for the 2001 movie Hannibal.
We'll see in early 2021 if Rebecca Breeds will hold her own as Agent Starling in Clarice, but she certainly has the potential to shine in the role. She has previously been seen in recurring roles on the shows Pretty Little Liars, The Originals, and Blue Water High. She also earned a Most Popular Actress Logie Award nomination in 2010 for her role as Ruby Buckton on Home and Away.
Clarice will premiere on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 10/9c on CBS and CBS All Access. The series is also getting promoted heavily on television during the NFL's AFC Championship game on Jan. 24, the Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, and the Super Bowl on Feb. 7. The teaser trailer comes to us from CBS on YouTube.
