CBS Promo photo for the new show “Clarice” which fits into the storyline of the cult classic “Silence of the Lambs”. Image/CBS.
by Victoria Brousseau, Managing Editor
Published Feb. 26, 2021
Hannibal Lecter is a household name, made famous by the crime thriller movie “Silence of the Lambs”. But whatever happened to the young FBI trainee who found the killer in the end? The New CBS crime show “Clarice,” named after the heroine, follows Clarice Starling as she joins a squad of FBI agents as they race against the clock to chase yet another serial killer.
With only two episodes out, the show has set itself up in the traditional format that fans of crime shows would expect, only adding older technology and references.
The first episode builds the suspense and mystery surrounding Clarice a year after the events of “Silence of the Lambs.” With Clarice, the underdog with everything to prove and just as much to lose. And her boss Paul Krendler, who distrusts her skills.
Perhaps it is hard to make the content feel truly original in such an overdeveloped genre. Or perhaps the feeling of unoriginality comes from the fact that the show is meant to serve as a sequel to a 30-year-old movie, where main character Dr. Hannibal Lecture is featured in four books and now 7 movie or tv adaptations.
The show introduces a cast of characters slightly more diverse than the original film. True, the show takes place in 1993, but when will we be able to accept that people of color and women are more common than what we see on tv? While we are at it let us also abandon the stereotypes and racist coded characters of men and women of color for shows that take place pre-2001. It is a tired and unoriginal troupe, and if Bridgerton can do it so can a 1993 crime thriller.
