Lifetime preps Jeffrey Epstein doc

Surviving R Kelly was broadcast by Lifetime last January

US cable network Lifetime has revealed its programming slate for the year, which includes investigative documentary series Surviving Jeffrey Epstein and six new Smart Justice specials.

Following the success of last year’s documentary Surviving R Kelly, the cablenet is developing Surviving Jeffrey Epstein as the next instalment in the series.

The four-hour doc investigates the billionaire New York financier who allegedly used his connections to the rich and famous to shield his predatory behaviour with young girls. The doc will be produced by Bungalow Media + Entertainment, with Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern directing.

The cablenet has also greenlit a five-movie series based on the Ruby Landry novels by VC Andrews. The series will follow the troubled Landry family as they seek to overcome the death of their parents and manoeuvre their love lives.

The Landry Family Series will be produced by Reel One Entertainment, with Tom Berry, Dan Angel, Jane Starz and Ric Nish executive producing.

Lifetime has again teamed up with Elizabeth Smart on Smart Justice, six hour-long true crime specials that complement the networks’ Ripped from the Headlines movie titles. Each special provides behind-the-scenes information on tragic crimes as Smart helps place victims on their journey to healing. Smart Justice doc subjects will be announced as Lifetime greenlights upcoming true crime titles.

The series is set to be produced by Telepictures, with Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey as senior executive producer, with Jeremy Spiegel, Mioshi Hill, Scott Eldridge and Gena McCarthy as executive producers.

The true crime film I Was Lorena Bobbitt also features on the cablenet’s slate. Lorena Bobbitt made tabloid headlines when, after years of abuse by her husband, she cut off his penis with a knife in 1993. The biopic documents the troubled relationship she had with her husband and follows her story from immigrant bride to abused wife.

I Was Lorena Bobbitt is produced by Cineflix Rights International, with Bobbitt herself serving as executive producer alongside Andy Streitfeld, Jeff Vanderwal and Charles Tremayne.

Lifetime is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Lifetime Original Movie this year, and network will premiere more than 100 new titles in 2020 to mark the occasion.