Will Fans Be Forced to Say Goodbye to Clarice Starling for Good?

We were first introduced to Clarice Starling in the 1988 horror novel The Silence of the Lambs, which made its way to the big screen only three years later.

Years after Jodie Foster (who played Clarice), Ted Levine (who played Buffalo Bill), and Anthony Hopkins (who, of course, played Hannibal Lector) starred in the hit film, there have been several sequels and adaptations, including Hannibal, which was ultimately canceled in 2015 after three seasons, and more recently, Clarice. But who plays Clarice Starling?

On Clarice, the lead character is portrayed by Australian actress Rebecca Breeds, who says, although she could never duplicate Jodie Foster or Julianne Moore, she tried her best to bring Clarice Starling to life. 

Rebecca told Gold Derby, “I wanted to honor Jodie, but couldn’t copycat her. It was such a wonderful experience reading the book. Gleaning all the Clarice parts. Jodie would have done the same thing. Julianne Moore would have done the same thing [for Hannibal in 2001]. Now I am a part of that legacy.”

The events in The Silence of the Lambs take place in 1990, while the CBS adaptation of the show is set in 1993. While showrunners say Clarice picks up about six months after Silence of the Lambs left off, longtime fans of the film struggled to make it make sense. 

But the lack of continuity wasn’t the only issue fans had with the spinoff series. Viewers also noted that the absence of Silence of the Lambs lead character Hannibal Lector (whose rights are owned by NBC) made the show feel more like a crime drama than a sequel to the original film.

Now that Season 1 finale is soon approaching, fans wonder if Clarice Starling will return for another season and to redeem herself. But things aren’t looking too good for the series. So, is Clarice renewed or canceled? 

In May, after earning the title of the network’s lowest-rated drama, it was confirmed that Clarice was canceled. Later, reports suggested that the show would return for Season 2 on the ViacomCBS streaming service, Paramount Plus. 

But according to Clarice co-creator Jenny Lumet, that was the plan all along. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “When we first came up with it, we assumed it would be a streaming show, and David Nevins said it will have more impact on network.”

However, according to Deadline, talks between MGM, the production company for Clarice, and Paramount Plus have stalled. While it seemed ready to go, there have reportedly been stalemates on either side of the deal.

For cable, Clarice was optioned at around $1.5 million per episode, but Paramount Plus was willing to pay $3.6 million. MGM asked for more, and the streaming network conceded to $3.8 million, a deficit loss.

In addition, MGM had other demands that Paramount Plus seemed willing but hesitant to meet, such as a higher number of episodes. While neither side wants to take responsibility for the Clarice deal falling through, some people think it may have something to do with Amazon's acquisition of MGM.

It seems like now, the only avenue forward for Clarice could be on Amazon Prime, which is a competitor to Paramount Plus. Alternatively, Clarice might actually be canceled after one season, leaving both MGM and CBS with deficits, and the fans equally as depleted in a true lose-lose-lose situation.

We don't know exactly what will happen but for now, you can tune into the season finale of Clarice on June 24 at 10 p.m. EST on CBS.