Lifetime Sets Premiere Dates for Its 'Ripped From the Headlines' Movies

Lifetime announced the premiere dates Tuesday for its “Ripped from the Headlines” true crime movies, which will begin airing in February.

First up is Death Saved My Life starring Meagan Good as Jade, a wife with a seemingly idyllic life: a successful marketing career, a loving husband and young daughter. Beneath the surface, Jade’s husband Ed (Chiké Okonkwo) physically and psychologically abuses her and hires a hitman to kill her after she threatens to leave him. Jade then decides to fake her own death as a way to escape.

Good’s sister La’Myia Good will also have a role in the upcoming film.

The other movies in the network’s 2021 winter catalog include The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice; Girl in the Basement; Circle of Deception; and A House On Fire.

Death Saved My Life will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice stars Kim Delaney and and is executive produced by Deborah Norville. The film is the story of a mother’s quest to find out what happened to her missing daughter. In the process, investigators find the shallow graves of 19 other young women near the beach on Long Island. It premieres on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Girl in the Basement tells the story of a controlling father Don (Judd Nelson) who locks his teenage daughter Sara (Stefanie Scott) in their family basement, torturing and raping her for years. She bears seven children alone in the basement while her mother and sister lived upstairs. The movie stars Judd Nelson, Joely Fisher and Stefanie Scott, and features Elisabeth Röhm in her directorial debut. The film airs Saturday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Circle of Deception tells the story of a small island community which gets rocked after one of its residents winds up dead the day after Christmas. His estranged wife Brenna (Jill Morrison) had previously shared to her ex pageant queen best friend Peggy Sue (Diane Neal) how he was abusive towards her. Now they all become part of the investigation along with their neighbors in the hunt to find his killer. The film stars Diane Neal and comes from Ashley Williams in her directorial debut. It airs on Saturday, March 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

A House On Fire centers on doctor and mother Deborah Green (Stephanie March) who has dependency problems on drugs and alcohol, and becomes extremely jealous of her husband’s successful medical career. She soon spirals herself and her family into ruin. It airs on Saturday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

After each film, Beyond The Headlines documentary shorts will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT to provide more context and real-life accounts that inspired the scripts.

Following Death Saved My Life, the documentary Beyond the Headlines: Faking Death will have writer Elizabeth Greenwood discuss her research into “pseudocide,” or faking one’s own death. She will also discuss why the topic of disappearing women has become a popular plot line for movies and books.

Watch a trailer for the film series below: