CBS picks up Silence of the Lambs series Clarice, Kal Penn joins cast

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Eight years ago, it was announced that a THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS sequel series called Clarice was in the works at Lifetime, with the plan being that the show would follow LAMBS heroine Clarice Starling after she graduated from the FBI Academy. That iteration of the show didn't go anywhere, but now a THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS sequel called Clarice has been ordered to series at CBS.

Written and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Clarice will be set in 1993, six months after the events of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. The show is described as 

a deep dive into the untold personal story of FBI Agent 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.

Rebecca Breeds will be taking on the role of Clarice Starling, who was played by Jodie Foster in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and by Julianne Moore in HANNIBAL. "Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice graduated Magna from UVA with a double major in psych and criminology. Her bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. Her complex psychological makeup comes from a challenging childhood, and her drive comes from her need to escape the burden of family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life."

Breeds is being joined in the cast by: 

– Kal Penn as Emin Grigoryan, "an agent with a Ph.D. in library science. Emin is the conduit between the Fly Team and ViCAP’s growing database, as opposed to Clarice’s unique knowledge of Behavioral Sciences. A former curator for the Smithsonian, FBI is, for him, a second career. With expertise in all things archival — from insects, to ancient manuscripts, to missing children. Grigoryan makes the dryest patterns of forensic evidence feel like they came from Dante."

– Michael Cudlitz as Paul Krendler, "leader of the VICAP Fly Team. Paul grew up in the second-best house in the second-best neighborhood in Hershey, Penn. His father was an executive at Hershey Park. Paul hated ‘The Sweetest Place on Earth’ with a vehemence. A truly gifted investigator for the Department of Justice, with solid legal skills. Krendler is also wily and sensitive to the shifting political winds."

– Nick Sandow as Murray Clarke, "Clarice’s chief hazer. A heavy smoker. A bit out of shape. Slow to move in the office, but one of your best friends in the field. Hailing from a law enforcement family, Clarke went to Holy Cross on a lacrosse scholarship and a ticket to the FBI. Never made it past field agent, never wanted to. Clarke may present as a knock-around guy, but his uncanny barometer for the truth puts him in a category all his own."

– Lucca De Oliveira as Tomas Esquivel, "who attended Dartmouth on an ROTC scholarship and became a counter-sniper during Operation Desert Storm. He is initially suspicious of Clarice, and her singular background in the Bureau. Esquivel has gone through his own kind of hazing, and is torn between his love of service, and his belief that the FBI needs to shake off its “Old School” mentality."

– Devyn A. Tyler as Ardelia Mapp, "Clarice’s closest friend and her roommate at the FBI Academy. Ardelia is brilliant and has developed strong coping mechanisms as a black woman working in the white male universe of the FBI. Ardelia has landed at the Department of Justice where she is an Asst. U.S. Attorney. She is vocal and open about the discrimination that’s rampant in the Bureau and in the D.O.J."

Kurtzman and Lumet will be executive producing with Heather Kadin for MGM Television and CBS Television Studios, in association with Secret Hideout. Aaron Baiers serves as co-executive producer.

Maja Vrvilo, whose credits include episodes of CSI: Cyber, Person of Interest, Elementary, Prison Break, Preacher, Lethal Weapon, Gotham, Hawaii Five-O, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Discovery, will be directing the pilot episode.

Since iconic LAMBS character Hannibal Lecter escaped into the world at the end of that story and wouldn't be reunited with Clarice until ten years later in HANNIBAL, he is not expected to be part of this show.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was based on a novel by Thomas Harris. You can pick up a copy of the book at THIS LINK, and watch the film at THIS LINK.