Lifetime has greenlit the new original movie The Bad Orphan, executive produced by and starring Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and newcomer Chloe Coco Chapman in her first television role. Mark Taylor (Reacher) and Eve Edwards (The Good Doctor) also star. This fictional movie marks Brandt’s return to Lifetime following her starring role in the Emmy-nominated movie, Flint. Currently in production, the movie will air as part of Lifetime’s summer slate.
The psychological drama centers on Jessica (Brandt) and Karl (Taylor), loving parents to Rhiannon (Edwards), who after years of trying to add to their family are elated to adopt Gabby (Chapman), an 8-year-old orphan born with personal challenges. Their ideas of a perfect family come into question when they discover that Gabby is a troubled little girl, and the family begins to believe things aren’t what they seem.
As the unsettling behavior of their “child” worsens and lies are uncovered, cracks in the family dynamic form with Jessica increasingly becoming concerned that adopted daughter Gabby is a threat to their family. Is Gabby just an innocent little girl? Or is there more to her story?
The Bad Orphan is produced for Lifetime by Neshama Entertainment in association with MarVista Entertainment. Keith Nietupski, Bonnie Zipursky, Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew executive produce for MarVista. Arnie Zipursky, Dayna Zipursky and Suzanne Berger executive produce for Neshama. Betsy Brandt is also an executive producer. Michelle Ouellet directs from a script written by Doris Egan.