Lifetime is expanding its slate of ripped-from-the-headlines movies, and the cabler has locked in some big stars for the latest projects.
The new flicks will focus on “notorious women” and will premiere early next year.
First up is How to Murder Your Husband, premiering on January 14 at 8/7c.
The flick is headlined by Cybill Shepherd and Steve Guttenberg.
“Based on a true story, Nancy Crampton-Brophy (Shepherd), seemed to have a knack for writing about murder,” Lifetime describes.
“The Portland-based romance-thriller novelist authored books about relationships that were tumultuous, while using seductive men on the covers to lure in her readers.”
“Often, her books featured women protagonists who fantasized about killing their own husbands or fleeing their husbands and faking their own deaths.”
“And then, in 2022 in a shocking turn of events, Brophy was convicted of killing her own husband.”
Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias launches the following week on Saturday, January 21, at 8/7c.
“In this follow-up to one of Lifetime’s most successful true crime movies, Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret, we will see a whole new side of the infamous murderess and the story that has captivated the world for nearly a decade,” the cabler says in the press release.
“Celinda Sinden stars in the new movie, Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias as Jodi, who has just been arrested and sent to prison while she awaits trial for murdering her boyfriend, Travis Alexander.”
“When she arrived in jail, Jodi charms her way through prison and befriends a couple, Donavan Bering and Tracy Brown.”
“The three inmates became inseparable, Donovan and Tracy doing anything and everything Jodi asked — even letting the murderess tattoo her name on one of them.”
“Donovan was released from prison as Jodi’s trial drew near and agreed to be Jodi’s mouthpiece, posting on her social pages and defending her friend to the world.”
“But when the details of the case and Jodi’s story were no longer adding up and Donovan refused to continue to do her former friend’s bidding, Jodi’s vengeful side emerged.
Sherri Papini: I Kidnapped Myself, featuring Jaime King, is set to launch January 28, at 8/7c.
King plays Sherri Papini in the film about the nation-wide, shocking story of a young mother of two, who disappears while jogging near her home, leading to national headlines as concerned citizens searched for her whereabouts.
“When she reappeared three weeks later on Thanksgiving Day, Sherri claimed she was abducted by two Hispanic women who chained and repeatedly abused her,” the logline teases.
“While Sherri’s return was celebrated, the state never stopped searching for her kidnappers. Four years later, Sherri’s world came crashing down as evidence revealed her kidnapping was all a hoax perpetrated by Sherri herself to spend time with her ex-boyfriend.”
“Sherri was arrested and ultimately sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to federal agents, creating hysteria in the community and wasting police time and funding with her nearly successful, elaborate scheme. Matt Hamilton (Girl in Room 13) stars as Sherri’s devoted husband, Keith.”
Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation, starring Jennifer Grey, is set to launch Saturday, February 4 at 8/7c.
“Grey stars as the controversial religious leader and Christian diet guru who positioned herself as God’s prophet and preached the virtues of being thin in the new Lifetime original movie, Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation,” Lifetime teases.
“As the founder of the Tennessee-based Remnant Fellowship Church and the Weigh Down Workshop – a massively successful Christian-based diet program that preached the virtue of a slim waist and the power of prayer for weight loss – Gwen Shamblin Lara was a rare woman to lead a Southern megachurch.”
“As her church grew across the nation, so did her iron-fisted grip as its leader—accumulating power and money, while creating a larger-than-life public persona with dramatically teased and towering hair.”
“At the peak of her power and influence, Gwen demanded that church members alienate themselves from anyone who was not a member, banished those that became overweight, threatened legal action against dissenters, and advocated for strict punishment of those who failed to follow church tenets.”
“But Gwen’s reign suddenly came to a tragic end in May 2021, when the plane that her husband Joe was flying crashed shortly after takeoff, killing Gwen, Joe, their son-in-law, and four other Church leaders.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.