From Greg Beeman — the director who gave us that Lisa Rinna-led TV movie Mommy Meanest — comes a new Lifetime true-crime thriller, this time starring Desperate Housewives alum Teri Hatcher as Ruth Finley, a real-life Wichita woman whose stalking case in the late 1970s linked her to the notorious American serial killer known as BTK.
Per the network, the official synopsis of The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story reads: “Ruth and her husband, Ed’s, tranquil life in Wichita, Kansas is suddenly turned upside down when Ed suffers a heart attack. As Ed fights for his life in the hospital, Ruth’s 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,” the summary continues. “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.”
Along with Hatcher, the cast includes Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) as Finley’s husband Ed, James Ralph as the BTK Killer and Eduard Witzke as Lt. Bernie Drowatzky. Actors Victoria Bidewell, Christopher Logan, Moses Wamukoya, Sabrina Miniaci, Candice Hunter and John McGlynn also feature.
“I’ve never been a part of a true crime story before, nor have I ever played a real person, and this is a pretty spectacular story,” Hatcher told Extra about playing Finley. “If you didn’t know that it was real, that it actually happened, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s that crazy.”
The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story premieres on Lifetime tonight, June 29 at 8pm Eastern Time. Those with cable packages can watch on their local Lifetime channel, but cable-cutters can also tune in online with a live TV streaming service that carries Lifetime, such as Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and Philo TV. The thriller will also be available to stream on MyLifetime.com beginning tomorrow, June 30.