'Cruel Intentions' series is in the works at Amazon

April 5 (UPI) -- Amazon is working on a series inspired by the 1999 teen drama, Cruel Intentions, which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair.

TVLine said production is to begin later this month in Toronto.

Variety reported the eight-episode series is expected to premiere on the company's Amazon Freevee free streaming service.

The latest iteration of the story, which has its roots in the 18th-century novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, will be set at an elite university in Washington, D.C., where two ruthless step-siblings will do anything, including seducing the daughter of the U.S. vice president, to maintain their power and reputations.

No casting has been announced yet for the Amazon project.

FOX previously started making a prequel series called Manchester Prep, but canceled it before it aired. The three produced episodes were released as Cruel Intentions 2 in 2001.

NBC ordered a pilot for a sequel starring Gellar in 2016, but the show didn't move forward.