Silence of the Lambs Sequel Show Clarice Set One Year After Movie

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The new CBS show Clarice, a sequel to the iconic ‘90s thriller The Silence of the Lambs, will bet set just one year after the original film. A titan and trendsetter of the genre, Silence of the Lambs has been the foundation for three follow-up films and the popular NBC series Hannibal. Clarice will follow the story of FBI agent Clarice Starling as she moves beyond her horrific experiences with serial killers Buffalo Bill and Hannibal Lecter.

When it released in 1991, Silence of the Lambs instantly became a cultural and critical sensation. The film won five Oscars at the Academy Awards and was generally lauded throughout the film community. Some criticisms have risen up since its initial zeitgeist, particularly regarding Buffalo Bill’s portrayal as a seemingly transgender character. Still Silence of the Lambs has managed to remain in the pantheon of recent cinema. While many subsequent stories have focused on Hannibal Lecter, Clarice will focus on the film’s other primary character, eponymous FBI agent Clarice Starling - played in the movie by Jodie Foster, and in the new show by Rebecca Breeds.

CBS has now revealed that Clarice will be set in 1993 - just one year after the events of the film. Per Entertainment Weekly, the setting will be highly significant to the show’s story as it pertains to major real-world moments in FBI history - notably, the tragic sieges of Waco, Texas and Ruby Ridge, and the first World Trade Center Bombing. That series of violent high-profile events will set the foundation for Starling’s FBI investigations in Clarice.

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Knowing how significant the show’s setting will be to the narrative also gives some clues to what that narrative will be. Clarice will not feature a traditional serial killer plotline in its first season, and the backdrop of such publicly scrutinized FBI operations could give the series a historical grounding akin to Mindhunter. With the focus on Starling rather than a particular killer, any number of different kinds of plots could rise to the forefront.

A fresh and independent story may be the right way to go, especially considering the new show won’t be allowed to use or even mention Hannibal Lecter for rights reasons. In the end, that may end up working to Clarice’s favor, as it won’t face as many comparisons to the litany of lauded Hannibal-centric stories already put to screen. With Starling in the lead and a solid narrative foundation outside the original film, Clarice looks set to build a distinct and compelling identity for itself.