What’s a summer without Lifetime? Well, it wouldn’t be much of a summer at all.
They’ve got us covered with a seven-movie drama slate that includes Teri Hatcher, Betsy Brandt,
The winner on the list seems to be the announcement that Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) is starring with Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) in its upcoming psychological drama The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story.
You’ve got to wait until the end of June for this sone, but hey, we’re used to waiting these days.
Based on a truly unbelievable stalking case, the thriller tells the true story of an unassuming housewife who becomes the target of a mysterious stalker whom she and the cops fear is the BTK Slayer.
THE GIRL LOCKED UPSTAIRS: THE TANYA KACH STORY
Premieres Saturday, June 8 at 8/7c.
Tanya Kach (Jordyn Ashley Olsen) was fourteen and at risk, struggling with an unhappy home life and the victim of bullying at her new school.
Feeling isolated and lonely, she is befriended by Tom Hose (Robert Baker), the school’s security guard, who manages to lure Tanya to his home, where he held her captive and sexually abused her for over a decade.
Convinced he had Tanya brainwashed and that she would never attempt escape, Tom eventually allows her to take on a part-time job. Out from under Tom’s watchful eye, Tanya finally finds the courage to take a dangerous step toward freedom.
Immediately following the movie’s premiere, Lifetime will debut Beyond the Headlines: The Tanya Kach Story with Elizabeth Smart. The doc will follow executive producer Elizabeth Smart as she meets the real-life Tanya Kach, who, at 14 years old, vanished from a Pittsburgh suburb.
GASLIT BY MY HUSBAND: THE MORGAN METZER STORY
Premieres Sunday, June 9 at 8/7c
Based on a true story (wait, aren’t they all?), the movie follows Morgan (Jana Kramer) and Rodney Metzer (Austin Nichols), who were childhood sweethearts and married by the time Morgan was just 21 years old.
The couple loses their first child shortly after birth but are overjoyed when they have twins a year later. Tensions begin to rise when Rodney loses his job and goes into debt. Rodney blames their fights on Morgan’s drinking – even if she’d only had one – and convinces Morgan that she pushed him down the stairs in a blackout rage.
The couple finally separates, and Morgan’s life begins to turn around until Rodney gets diagnosed with cancer. Not long after, a masked intruder breaks into Morgan’s home and assaults her. Rodney shows up only minutes after the intruder is gone; when authorities question him, Rodney’s story doesn’t seem to be adding up.
Does Rodney really have cancer, and is he the hero that he claims to be, or has he been gaslighting Morgan for decades? J. Barrett Cooper, Denise Dal Vera and Maximo Sherman also star.
YOGA TEACHER KILLER: THE KAITLIN ARMSTRONG STORY
Premieres Saturday, June 15 at 8/7c
Hot take: I’ll watch anything with Kyle Schmid, but the same can be said for City Lotz, so this is definitely going on my calendar!
Yoga Teacher Killer is based on the true events of a deadly love triangle that led authorities on an international manhunt.
When pro-cyclist Moriah Wilson (Larissa Dias) is found dead after a short-lived affair with fellow professional Colin Strickland (Schmid), all signs point to Texan yoga teacher and Strickland’s on-and-off girlfriend Kaitlin Armstrong (Lotz).
After being accused of allegedly killing Wilson in a jealous rage, she vanishes into thin air. On the run, Kaitlin alters her appearance in an attempt to elude the authorities as they work to track her down, leading them to places that they never expected to find her.
DANGER IN THE DORM
Premieres Sunday, June 16 at 8/7c
Bethenny Frankel sure has come a long way since Real Housewives!
Inspired by one of Ann Rule’s earliest true crime works, Danger in the Dorm tells the story of Kathleen (Clara Alexandrova) after the tragic murder of her childhood best friend and fellow classmate, Becky.
Now, she must shed her rebellious youthful spirit in order to catch a killer who’s preying on young girls around campus, even as her mother, Joanne (Frankel), tries to protect Kathleen from suffering the same fate as her friend.
THE BAD ORPHAN
Premieres Saturday, June 22 at 8/7c
The psychological drama centers on Jessica (Betsy Brandt) and Karl (Mark Taylor), loving parents to Rhiannon (Eve Edwards), who, after years of trying to add to their family, are elated to adopt Gabby (Chloe Coco Chapman), an 8-year-old orphan born with personal challenges.
Their ideas of a perfect family come into question when they discover that Gabby is a troubled little girl, and the family begins to believe things aren’t what they seem.
As the unsettling behavior of their “child” worsens and lies are uncovered, cracks in the family dynamic form, with Jessica becoming increasingly concerned that her adopted daughter Gabby is a threat to their family.
DEVIL ON CAMPUS: THE LARRY RAY STORY
Premieres Sunday, June 23 at 8/7c
When ex-convict Larry Ray (Billy Zane) unexpectedly moves into his daughter’s dorm, he enthralls her friends with conversations and promises to help them with personal transformations by preying on their insecurities and fears.
Under Ray’s influence, the students uncover false memories of childhood trauma that Ray uses to further alienate them from their families. As the students continue to fall under Ray’s control, he begins to target their friends and family, extending his reach of emotional, financial, sexual abuse and mental manipulation.
As the students get pulled deeper into the cult, Ray’s control moves from emotional and mental to sexual as well, creating a web of lies and deceit.
THE KILLER INSIDE: THE RUTH FINLEY STORY
Premieres Saturday, June 29 at 8/7c
The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story follows Ruth (Teri Hatcher) and her husband, Ed’s (Tahmoh Penikett), tranquil life in Wichita, Kansas, which is suddenly turned upside down when Ed suffers a heart attack.
As Ed fights for his life in the hospital, Ruth starts to receive mysterious threats, leaving her in a state of panic. With the city held hostage by the terror of the BTK killer, Ruth finds herself enveloped in paranoia, convinced that she will be the next victim, as the menacing phone calls escalate into chilling letters.
Amidst the frenzy of the police’s pursuit of BTK, Ruth is abducted, sending shockwaves through the community. Yet her sudden reappearance shortly after the kidnapping leaves investigators baffled and scrambling for answers.
As suspicion mounts and new evidence comes to light, the authorities entertain the unsettling notion that the perpetrator may be someone intimately connected to Ruth.
The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson
We’d be remiss not to mention the two-part documentary that airs across two nights on June 1 and 2 beginning at 8/7c that examines the life and murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.
It’s been 30 years since she was murdered, and the documentary provides an opportunity for Nicole’s own narrative and voice to be heard in one of the most notorious crimes and trials in history.
The project features 50 participants, including those who knew Nicole the best – her friends and family – to shed new light on her life and tragic death. With unprecedented access to exclusive home videos and interviews, the documentary will reveal shocking new details in the tragic story.
“What happened to our sister Nicole should never have happened to her or to any other woman,” said the Brown Sisters.
“Her life was stolen from her, and while her abuser is finally gone, it doesn’t take away the anguish we feel or the pain of her children who lost their mother. We hope that sharing Nicole’s story will help others recognize the signs and get the help they need, and her legacy will continue to live on.”
Nicole Brown Simpson’s murder and O.J.’s proclaimed innocence have been the subject of scrutiny for years, but the story has always been missing one key side…Nicole’s.
Now, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of her death, Nicole’s story will finally be told as her three sisters – Denise, Dominique, and Tanya – and her closest friends come forward for the first time to share her truth.
We thank Lifetime for ensuring that we’ve got a lot to do this summer when it comes to watching TV.
And you bet we’ll do our darndest to write about all of these in more depth so we can all enjoy them together!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.