The TV adaptation of Cruel Intentions is perhaps the most meta show of the year. After all, it’s a remake of a teen movie that was a remake of Dangerous Liaisons, a 1988 adult period drama that was adapted from a French novel that came out in 1782. Anyway, meta though it may be, it’s pretty watchable. And it’s streaming on Amazon Prime, so it’s easily accessible!

Rather than mining the drama of a Park Avenue Prep School, the new Cruel Intentions is cleverly set in the world of sororities and fraternities at a fictitious private university in Washington, DC. Because everyone is ACTUALLY OF AGE, it doesn’t feel as weird for grownup viewers to be following their love lives and shipping their fledgling romances. This critic applauds the decision to age everyone up!

Cruel Intentions’ heroine, Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook), is an ambitious sorority president who is worried about a backlash against on-campus Greek Life. Terrified of losing her chapter (and more importantly, her source of power), this Queen Bee enlists the help of her stepbrother, Lucien. The savvy Caroline figures if Lucien can seduce the vice-president’s Freshman daughter, Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith) into joining the sorority, it will be saved. After all, surely the VP could pull some strings, if push came to shove?

Played by Zac Burgess, Lucien looks like a dark-haired Ryan Phillippe, which is a nice ode to the ’90s version of the story. For her part, Caroline is clearly meant to serve as the 21st-century version of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character, but for some reason, she’s actually a dead ringer for Reese Witherspoon.  That visual weirdness aside, Hook is the most delicious Mean Girl we’ve seen on TV since Blair Waldorf herself! Her scathing glances and patrician looks were made for the world of TV soap operas. And to make things even better, Hook is excellent at throwing a barb. Lines like “Never tell a woman to calm down” would feel derivative in the mouths of most actresses; however, Hook has the confidence and charisma to pull off mediocre dialogue.

Because this IS a remake of Cruel Intentions, incest is at the forefront. Lucien initially agrees to recruit the VP’s sweet kid because he’s lusted after his stepsister for years – and Caroline will finally bed him if she gets what she wants. To make their family even creepier, Caroline’s mother blatantly gropes Lucien in the pilot.

Fortunately, the creepiness is balanced by a healthy amount of humour. Case in point: Sara Silva gets to play a truly great TV minion. When the sniveling Sorority Girl compares Caroline and her Frat President Boyfriend to the Clintons, Caroline drawls, “That’s not the compliment you think it is” to her naive servant. As a homage to its sort of-source material, Caroline also rocks a cross full of cocaine. What camp!

While the plot doesn’t always feel coherent (I’m never sure what is happening, why it’s happening, or when it’s happening), there are enough fun party sequences and cute clothes to keep you happy. Complete with a gorgeous cast, Cruel Intentions is eye candy of the highest caliber. Because it’s not completely shallow, the series even makes the odd salient point about sexuality and gender norms, demonstrating the continued pressure on young women to perform a demure and “respectable” form of femininity, even in the supposed age of Sex Positivity.

If you miss classic Gossip Girl (I don’t mean the weird remake where Tavi Gevinson is a teacher cyberbullying her students), Cruel Intentions scratches the proverbial itch. Will I write a weekly blog about it where I quote Judith Butler and Foucault like I did for Gossip Girl when I was in grad school? No; however, some bright-eyed Gender Studies grad student surely will…