The Originals' Rebecca Breeds to Star in Silence of the Lambs Sequel Clarice at CBS

Update 5/8/2020: The Silence of the Lambs sequel Clariceis officially coming to CBS. The network has picked up the series, which will follow Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) in the aftermath of the events of the 1991 movie. The show is currently set to debut during the 2020-2021 TV season.

Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira, and Devyn A. Tyler also star.

2/26/2020: In the immortal words of fiction's most chilling serial killer, "Hello, Clarice." CBS's upcoming The Silence of the Lambs sequel series, Clarice, has finally cast its lead. Rebecca Breeds (The Originals, Pretty Little Liars) is set to star as the eponymous FBI agent Clarice Starling, TV Guide has confirmed.

Clarice will pick up with the title character one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news of Breeds' casting. The show will take place in 1993 and explore an as-yet-untold part of Starling's story as she returns to Washington, D.C., to pursue other serial murderers and sexual predators amid the political goings-on in the capital. Clarice has been given a series commitment by CBS.

Jodie Foster won an Oscar for her take on Clarice Starling in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. The character was also portrayed by Julianne Moore in the 2001 film Hannibal. NBC's Hannibal brought the story of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen in the TV series and by Anthony Hopkins in the films) to the small screen, but Clarice Starling was not a character in the series. Lifetime set plans to create a Clarice Starling-centered show in 2012, but the project did not go forward.

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Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek: Picard) and Jenny Lumet (Star Trek: Discovery) will executive-produce Clarice for CBS. They said in a January statement, "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."

Clarice is based on the characters in Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter book series, which also inspired the films.