Lifetime Orders Five Movies Based on Ann Rule Novels

Lifetime has greenlit five new movies inspired by books from the New York Times best-selling true-crime author Ann Rule for the network’s summer Ripped from the Headlines slate.

Among the books that Lifetime is set to adapt are Danger in The Dorm, Mortal Danger, Practice to Deceive, Bitter Harvest and Empty Promises, which will be entitled A Murder to Remember for the movie version. Lifetime has previously brought such Rule novels to the small screen as Too Late to Say Goodbye with Rob Lowe, Hunt for the I-5 Killer with John Corbett, Everything She Ever Wanted with Gina Gershon and Capture of the Green River Killer with Tom Cavanagh. Casting is currently underway for the new films.

Ashley Williams, who starred in Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer from Lifetime’s winter Ripped from the Headlines slate, is set to make her film directorial debut with Practice to Deceive. Robin Givens (Tyler Perry’s House of Payne) will also make her directorial debut with A Murder to Remember. The additional directors include Karen Lam (Evangeline) for Danger in the Dorm, Shamim Sarif (Despite the Falling Snow) for Bitter Harvest and David Weaver (The Samaritan) for Mortal Danger. Writers include Ramona Barckert, Christina Ray, Amber Benson, Richard Blaney and Gregory Small, Conor Allyn and Benjamin Anderson.

As part of Lifetime’s Broader Focus initiative, which supports the hiring of women in key production roles, 68 percent of the Lifetime Original Movies premiering from January through July 2020 are written by women. Fifty-seven percent are directed by women and 53 percent are executive produced by women.