“When I was reading it, I'm like, ‘This cannot be real. Like, this is not real, right?’" actress Jana Kramer told ABC News about the script for Lifetime's latest true crime thriller, Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story, which premieres on the cable network tonight, June 7 at 8pm Eastern Time.
And it is, shockingly, a very true story, about a Kansas City's teen whose whole world comes crashing down when she learns that her uncle is actually a serial killer responsible for the murders of multiple women in the area, including her biological mother.
Per the movie's official synopsis: "Heather Robinson (Rachel Stubington) grew up in a loving family in Illinois and, by the time she was a teen, had long known that she had been adopted as an infant by her parents. But in 2000, the then-15-year-old’s world was shattered when she learned that the man she knew as her uncle, John Robinson (Steve Guttenberg), was actually a serial killer accused of murdering multiple women in the Kansas City area, including her biological mother. After her uncle’s arrest, Heather learns the shocking truth about her birth mother’s disappearance."
Along with Rachel Stubington as Heather and Steve Guttenberg as Uncle John, the cast of Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story includes Jana Kramer, Ross Crain, Deja Dee, Jackie Sanders, Rose Decker, Sarah Hudson, Lily Talevski, Robyne Parrish and Molly Miller.
Guttenberg, known for his roles in classic comedies like Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby, spoke to Remind magazine about going against-type to play a violent killer in the new Lifetime drama. “It’s such a great opportunity to be able to go outside your wheelhouse,” he said. “And I think that’s the classic nature of acting — people want to see you pop up through different holes. They want to see you surprise them.”
“To me, it was a story about destruction and what one man can do, [how] one man can change so many lives [through his actions],” the actor added.
To tune into the premiere of Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story tonight at 8pm, you're going to need access to the Lifetime network. Those with cable packages can watch on their local Lifetime channel, but even if you don't have traditional cable, cord-cutters can also tune in online via a live TV streaming service that carries Lifetime, such as Frndly TV, Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and Philo TV. And if you miss the television broadcast tonight, don't fret: Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story will also be available to stream on MyLifetime.com beginning tomorrow, Sunday, June 8.
Check out the official trailer for Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story before tuning into the true crime flick tonight on Lifetime.
