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Lifetime is going back to the Lizzie Borden well.
The female-skewing cable network announced Wednesday that it has greenlighted a six-hour miniseries called Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles.
Christina Ricci will reprise her titular role as the notorious murder suspect she portrayed in TV movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, with Clea DuVall also set to return as Lizzie’s sister, Emma.
Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles will be a fictionalized account of the actual events and people surrounding Lizzie’s life after her controversial acquittal of the double murder of her father and stepmother in 1892. But when numerous people close to Lizzie — ranging from her half-brother to Broadway luminaries and the head of the criminal underworld — start to mysteriously die under brutal and strange circumstances, legendary Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo (Cole Hauser, Good Will Hunting) becomes determined to prove her involvement in their ultimate demise. Emmy nominee John Heard (The Sopranos) will portray William Almy, the business partner of Lizzie’s murdered father Andrew, while Lizzie’s half-brother William will be played by Andrew Howard (Hatfields & McCoys).
The mini, from Sony Pictures Television and original producer Judith Verno, will premiere in 2015. Ricci will also exec produce the mini, which will be written by Greg Small and Rich Blaney (Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret), Barbara Nance, Jason Grote and David Simkins. Stephen Kay will direct the first two episodes.
Lizzie Borden premiered in January and opened to 4.4 million total viewers. It ranks as Lifetime’s second-most-watched movie telecast among women, second only to Flowers in the Attic. The latter has produced three TV movie sequels.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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