50 best Lifetime movies

While Lifetime movies might seem like a tradition as old equally cable itself, the get-go 1 debuted in 1990, vi years after the network was established. Called "Memories of Murder," it centered on a adult female with amnesia, who suddenly gets her memory back and becomes convinced there'south another woman out to get her. Consider it a relatively tame preview of what was to come, as it was followed by tawdry fare such as "Abducted: A Father's Honey," "Co-Ed Call Girl," and numerous other titles. Needless to say, the recipe worked, and the network fifty-fifty fix upwardly its own respective channel just for movies.

Present, Lifetime movies are commonly divided between a few corresponding categories: soapy biopics similar "Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance," child abduction stories, thrillers involving family unit secrets (such as the infamous "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger"), teen dramas, and romantic comedies.

Aimed primarily at the female demographic, these films come in well beneath nearly cinematic standards, but all the same represent a qualitative spring over the network's earliest output. In fact, Lifetime is no stranger to the occasional Emmy nomination or positive review. The network has also become a veritable hub for female talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Many now-famous A-list and B-list actors got work in Lifetime movies early in their careers or when they were struggling to suspension through. Some notable names on this list include Mahershala Ali, Alia Shawkat, Regina Rex, and Kristen Stewart. And occasionally, Lifetime provides roles for truly not bad actresses who have trouble finding work in a sexist industry that tends to discard women as they historic period (see Angela Bassett in "Betty and Coretta" and Cicely Tyson in "The Trip to Bountiful").

Admirable qualities bated, Lifetime movies namely persist every bit the stuff of pure TV melodrama. These are films people love to detest or hate to love, with precious few exceptions. Most subjects are ripped directly from the headlines and treated with a heavy hand. Every at present and then, still, an accurate story slips through the cracks. Examples include "Miracle Run" and "A Daughter Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story," both of which offer deft takes on important issues.

To gloat these iconic cablevision fixtures in their cheesiness and glory akin, Stacker used IMDb user ratings information to rank the top 50 Lifetime movies, with ties broken by votes. To authorize, the flick had to exist produced or distributed by Lifetime and have at least 250 user votes. Counting down from #50, hither are the best Lifetime movies.

You may also like: 50 of the best films according to women critics

ane / fifty

#50. Hit and Run (1999)

- Director: Dan Lerner
- IMDb user rating: half dozen.0
- Runtime: 88 min

Margaret Colin returned to her soap opera roots with "Hit and Run," starring equally Joanna, a woman who accidentally hits a daughter with her machine. She does the correct thing—at commencement. Fleeing the scene to get assist for the girl, when she returns she stays mum about her identity. Only the guilt might exist too much for Joanna.

ii / l

#49. My Name Is Sarah (2007)

- Director: Paul A. Kaufman
- IMDb user rating: 6.0
- Runtime: 98 minutes

Her name is Sarah (Jennifer Beals) and she's not a recovering alcoholic, though her fellow AA members are none the wiser. To give upwards the ruse is to compromise her budding romance with an bodily alcoholic named Charlie. Empathic label keeps the viewers on Sarah's side throughout this romantic dramedy.

iii / 50

#48. When Innocence Is Lost (1997)

- Manager: Bethany Rooney
- IMDb user rating: vi.1
- Runtime: 91 minutes

Before her breakout performance in the Idiot box series "Felicity," Keri Russell starred in this family drama. Like a soapy take on "Kramer vs. Kramer," information technology finds a young unmarried mother (Russell) fighting for custody over her newborn baby. Wait a pivotal twist as the courtroom battle unfolds.

4 / fifty

#47. Unstable (2009)

- Manager: Don McBrearty
- IMDb user rating: 6.i
- Runtime: 85 minutes

At the heart of this psychological thriller is a wealthy woman named Megan Walker (Shiri Appleby). Still grappling with past trauma, Megan enters into a new and seemingly perfect marriage. When strange events unfold, she must decide whether her husband has ulterior motives or if information technology'due south all in her caput.

five / fifty

#46. Not Like Everyone Else (2006)

- Director: Tom McLoughlin
- IMDb user rating: six.ane
- Runtime: 120 minutes

This Lifetime drama tells the story of Brandi Blackbear (Alia Shawkat), a Native American teenager accused of witchcraft. Suspended from schoolhouse for casting a spell, Blackbear sues for Civil Rights violations. As baroque as it may sound, this ane's based on actual events.

Y'all may also like: Tin can you answer these real 'Jeopardy!' questions about movies?

vi / l

#45. Missing at 17 (2013)

- Director: Doug Campbell
- IMDb user rating: half dozen.1
- Runtime: 90 minutes

After running away to find her biological mother, a teen gets seduced by a criminal. When she never returns home, her adoptive mother sets out to find her. So goes this dramatic thriller, in which both mothers join forces to salvage the young girl.

7 / 50

#44. Double Daddy (2015)

- Director: Lee Friedlander
- IMDb user rating: 6.ane
- Runtime: 85 minutes

Despite its express joy-out-loud title, this teen motion-picture show unfolds in the vein of a soapy drama. The double daddy in question is loftier school playboy Connor, who impregnates two different girls effectually the same time. It was afterward followed by a stand-alone sequel called...look for it..."Double Mommy."

8 / l

#43. Bond of Silence (2010)

- Director: Peter Werner
- IMDb user rating: 6.one
- Runtime: 98 minutes

Ripped directly from the headlines, this small-town drama kicks off with an accidental murder and the air of silence that follows. When a suspect finally emerges, the victim'south widow resorts to empathy in lieu of spite. The subsequent bond between these two characters entails themes of compassion and forgiveness.

9 / 50

#42. Starving in Suburbia (2014)

- Managing director: Tara Miele
- IMDb user rating: 6.1
- Runtime: 84 minutes

Every bit the title would advise, this Lifetime drama examines the ongoing threat of anorexia amidst teenage girls. It centers on 17-year-old Hannah, who takes her eating disorder to dangerous extremes. Viewers appear to be divided every bit to whether the movie delivers an authentic feel or actually romanticizes the very thing it's trying to demystify.

10 / 50

#41. Fugitive at 17 (2012)

11 / 50

#40. Flowers in the Cranium (2014)

- Director: Deborah Chow
- IMDb user rating: 6.1
- Runtime: 89 minutes

Follow the 4 Dollanganger children as they motion into Grandma's house afterwards their male parent's expiry. Unfortunately, Grandma (Ellen Burstyn) is a heartless psycho who locks them in the attic. Like the best-selling novel from which information technology was adapted, this moving-picture show kicked off a number of sequels.

12 / fifty

#39. Half a Dozen Babies (1999)

- Manager: Douglas Barr
- IMDb user rating: 6.two
- Runtime: 89 minutes

While struggling to conceive, a married couple partakes in one last round of fertility treatment. That gives style to Indiana's first-e'er sixtuplets and a host of new issues for both partners. It'south all based on the true story of Keith and Becki Dilley.

xiii / 50

#38. Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart (2016)

- Managing director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Runtime: 90 minutes

A nautical chart-topping song by rhythm and dejection artist Toni Braxton became the title of her subsequent memoir and this moving-picture show accommodation. Post-obit her meteoric ascension to success, the vocalizer battles with Lupus, a public divorce, and her son's autism. What emerges is a portrait of perseverance and self-healing for the sake of family unit.

xiv / 50

#37. Bringing Ashley Home (2011)

- Director: Nick Copus
- IMDb user rating: half-dozen.2
- Runtime: 87 minutes

A trouble-laden teen (Jennifer Morrison) goes missing and her older sister (A.J. Melt) is determined to discover her. The story unfolds over the grade of years and depicts both sisters on their corresponding journeys. Patricia Richardson (of "Dwelling house Comeback") co-stars.

fifteen / fifty

#36. Jodi Arias: Dirty Piffling Cloak-and-dagger (2013)

16 / 50

#35. Montana Sky (2007)

- Director: Mike Robe
- IMDb user rating: half dozen.two
- Runtime: 96 minutes

A wealthy stock trader bequeaths his Montana subcontract to his 3 daughters, who are one-half-sisters and consummate strangers to one another. There's just one catch: the daughters must live on the holding together for a year before they tin officially own information technology. This Lifetime drama is ane in a long line of Nora Roberts adaptations.

17 / 50

#34. Betty and Coretta (2013)

- Director: Yves Simoneau
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 88 minutes

From the director of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" comes this biographical drama with ever-prescient themes. Subsequently the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Macolm Ten, widows Coretta Scott King (Angela Bassett) and Dr. Betty Shabazz (Mary J. Blige) continue the fight for racial justice. Both stars were nominated for Women's Paradigm Network Awards, with Bassett taking home the prize.

eighteen / 50

#33. Dear Hole-and-corner Santa (2013)

- Manager: Peter Sullivan
- IMDb user rating: vi.3
- Runtime: 88 minutes

A busy Beverly Hills banker (Tatyana Ali) comes home for the holidays in this romantic Christmas comedy. The plot takes a twist when she starts receiving mysterious messages from a secret admirer, who may very well exist expressionless. Has her wish to find true beloved actually been fulfilled?

19 / 50

#32. Lies in Manifestly Sight (2010)

- Director: Patricia Cardoso
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 89 minutes

Afterwards the sudden suicide of her shut cousin, a blind woman (Martha Higareda) goes looking for answers. During the investigation, she uncovers a nighttime by of long-cached secrets. This is a remake of the 2006 Israeli film "Out of Sight."

twenty / 50

#31. Expecting Amish (2014)

21 / l

#thirty. Lies My Female parent Told Me (2005)

- Director: Christian Duguay
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 87 minutes

Con artist Lauren Sims (Joely Richardson) violates her probation and skips town with her daughter Haylei (Hayden Panettiere). They end up in Las Vegas, where Lauren marries a wealthy attorney. The grim story that follows is loosely based on actual events.

22 / l

#29. Kept Woman (2015)

- Director: Michel Poulette
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 83 minutes

This dramatic thriller peels back the layers of suburbia to find something bleak and dangerous lying underneath. Upon moving into her new home, a adult female (Courtney Ford) chop-chop becomes suspicious of her kindly neighbor. Despite her instincts, she'due south soon lured into a twisted trap.

23 / l

#28. The Trials of Cate McCall (2013)

- Director: Karen Moncrieff
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Runtime: 89 minutes

After failing to find an audience elsewhere, this film was picked upward past Lifetime and aired in 2014. Kate Beckinsale plays disgraced lawyer Cate McCall, who takes on a pro bono appeal to regain both her credentials and the custody of her girl. An apparent case of wrongful conviction delivers unexpected twists as the drama unfolds. Nick Nolte and James Cromwell likewise star.

24 / 50

#27. For One Nighttime (2006)

- Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
- IMDb user rating: vi.4
- Runtime: 89 minutes

A Georgia town experiences a long overdue reckoning in this Lifetime drama, loosely inspired by actual events. Fed up with her high schoolhouse's segregated prom policy, teen Brianna McCallister (played by Raven-Symone) advocates for change. Embarrassingly enough, the story takes place in 2002.

25 / 50

#26. Taken Back: Finding Haley (2012)

- Managing director: Mark Jean
- IMDb user rating: vi.iv
- Runtime: 85 minutes

No stranger to the premise, Lifetime released however another missing child movie in 2012. This time around, a mother named Karen (Moira Kelly) goes to drastic extremes in her decade-long pursuit of the truth. She finally tracks down her daughter in a schoolyard...or is it merely someone who looks like her daughter?

You may also like: 100 best Westerns of all fourth dimension

26 / 50

Muse Amusement Enterprises

#25. Reviving Ophelia (2010)

- Director: Bobby Roth
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Runtime: 92 minutes

Based on Mary Pipher's not-fiction book of the aforementioned name, this drama chronicles the trials and tribulations of two sisters and their teenage daughters. Wrapped up in the narrative is a taut examination of modern boyhood. Like the volume earlier it, the film argues that many teens notwithstanding come of historic period in "a girl-poisoning civilisation."

27 / 50

#24. Love at the Christmas Tabular array (2012)

- Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
- IMDb user rating: half-dozen.five
- Runtime: 89 minutes

What better time than Christmas for two close friends to fall in honey? Those friends are Sam and Kat and their bond goes dorsum decades, to when they used to sit at the kids' table. To quote the picture'south tagline, "it was dearest with every bite."

28 / 50

#23. Twist of Religion (2013)

- Director: Paul A. Kaufman
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 85 minutes

After witnessing the murder of his family, an Orthodox Jew wanders from big metropolis New York to small-scale-town Alabama. He'southward taken in by the local gospel community and their talented atomic number 82 vocalizer (Toni Braxton). Awash with organized religion-based themes, the movie is a testament to the healing power of beloved.

29 / fifty

#22. The Wronged Human (2010)

- Manager: Tom McLoughlin
- IMDb user rating: half-dozen.6
- Runtime: 85 minutes

Based on a magazine article of the same name, this legal drama depicts the 22-twelvemonth battle to clear an innocent homo of fake rape charges. The man's name is Calvin Willis and he'south played by and so-ascent star Mahershala Ali. For both Willis and his pro bono paralegal (Julia Ormond), it'due south a life-changing journey from which an unbreakable friendship is forged.

thirty / 50

#21. The Pregnancy Projection (2012)

- Managing director: Norman Buckley
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 89 minutes

Witness the true story of Gaby Rodriguez (played by Alexa PenaVega), who grabbed headlines in 2011 for her high school senior project. Determined to expose the stigmas surrounding teen pregnancy, Rodriguez pretended to be pregnant herself. Her experiment is the subject of both this Lifetime drama and an honour-winning memoir.

You may also like: Best and worst Leonardo DiCaprio movies

31 / 50

#20. Girl, Positive (2007)

- Director: Peter Werner
- IMDb user rating: 6.half dozen
- Runtime: 88 minutes

Loftier schoolhouse teen Rachel Sandler (Andrea Bowen) appears to have a perfect life and a promising future. But everything changes when she discovers that a one-time fling—who has since died in a auto accident—was HIV positive. "90210" alum Jennie Garth co-stars equally a substitute instructor who's been secretly grappling with the very same disease.

32 / 50

#19. Odd Girl Out (2005)

- Manager: Tom McLoughlin
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 84 minutes

Hot on the heels of 2004'south "Hateful Girls" came this similar-sounding Tv moving picture, in which a teen daughter flirts with the object of someone else's affection. At present in the crosshairs, she suffers relentless bullying as a result. The volume it adapted besides brought the disregarded effect of female teen bullying to much wider attending.

33 / 50

#xviii. Little Daughter Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008)

- Manager: Paul A. Kaufman
- IMDb user rating: six.7
- Runtime: 89 minutes

This fact-based melodrama has all the ingredients for a formulaic Lifetime movie, including a missing child and desperate mother. What's surprising is the earnest and authentic delivery, according to one Hollywood Reporter review. It's based on the shocking true story of Delimar Vera, a babe who was presumed expressionless in a fire but really kidnapped.

34 / 50

#17. Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012)

- Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
- IMDb user rating: 6.seven
- Runtime: 86 minutes

Culling from another truthful abduction story, this drama puts a slight twist on the standard template. Instead of focusing on the female parent, information technology centers on the kidnapped baby turned young adult. It's only at the age of 23 that Carlina White realizes the people who raised her aren't her biological parents.

35 / 50

#eighteen. No One Would Tell (1996)

- Director: Noel Nosseck
- IMDb user rating: half-dozen.7
- Runtime: 96 minutes

Sitcom stars Fred Cruel and Candace Cameron Bure headline this made-for-TV drama, which chronicles an abusive high schoolhouse relationship. What starts as an unlikely romance takes on deadly dimensions when the boyfriend (Savage) reveals his darker side. Lifetime updated the moving-picture show with a 2018 remake starring Shannen Doherty and Mira Sorvino.

You may as well like: Best Meryl Streep movies

36 / fifty

#15. Mom at Sixteen (2005)

- Manager: Peter Werner
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 90 minutes

Lifetime once once more explores teenage pregnancy in this 2005 film about 16-year-old Jacey Jeffries (Danielle Panabaker). Later on giving birth, Jacey attends a new high school and tries to blend in with the local populace. To hide her undercover, she pretends that her daughter is actually her younger sister.

37 / 50

#14. The Memory Keeper'south Girl (2008)

- Director: Mick Jackson
- IMDb user rating: half-dozen.seven
- Runtime: 90 minutes

One of Lifetime's nearly ambitious efforts adapts a acknowledged novel and stars Dermot Mulroney as Dr. David Henry. Upon discovering that i of his twin babies has Down syndrome, David gives her away to a nurse (Emily Watson) in 1964. The following story takes identify over decades, as he tries to reconcile with both his abased daughter and his selfish deed.

38 / 50

#13. Cleveland Abduction (2015)

- Director: Alex Kalymnios
- IMDb user rating: six.7
- Runtime: 88 minutes

This merciless outing tells the true story of Michelle Knight, who was held captive by rapist Ariel Castro for over eleven years. Taryn Manning plays the struggling survivor and Raymond Cruz her sadistic abductor. Variety critic Brian Lowry called it "ugly, brutal and hard to watch."

39 / 50

#12. Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story (2005)

40 / l

#xi. The Trip to Bountiful (2014)

- Director: Michael Wilson
- IMDb user rating: 6.nine
- Runtime: 102 minutes

Cicely Tyson stars in "The Trip to Bountiful" every bit the elderly and overprotected Carrie Watts, who makes an impromptu journey to her former hometown. Both this movie and a previous Oscar-winning film are based on Horton Foote'due south 1953 play of the same proper name.

You may as well like: Ranking The Best Years in Pic History

41 / 50

Alberta Picture Entertainment

#10. Dawn Anna (2005)

- Director: Arliss Howard
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 88 minutes

Debra Winger plays existent-life mother Dawn Anna Townsend in this harrowing drama. While recovering from a deadly brain disease, Dawn loses one of her daughters to the Columbine High Schoolhouse massacre. Bring tissues.

42 / 50

#ix. Living Proof (2008)

- Manager: Dan Ireland
- IMDb user rating: 6.ix
- Runtime: 125 minutes

Clocking in at over ii hours, this biographical drama follows Dr. Dennis Slamon (Harry Connick Jr.) on his quest to cure chest cancer. The real-life Dr. Slamon hoped that the viewers took away the importance of philanthropic donations and trial volunteers. Regina Rex, Amanda Bynes, Tammy Blanchard, and Angie Harmon co-star.

43 / l

Braun Entertainment Group

#8. The Gabby Douglas Story (2014)

- Manager: Gregg Champion
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 86 minutes

Meet Gabby Douglas (respectively played by Imani Hakim and Sydney Mikayla), the get-go adult female of color to win gilt in the women's all-round Olympic Gymnastics. This acclaimed biopic highlights the sacrifices she fabricated when going from gifted prodigy to global champion. It was nominated for four NAACP Image Awards.

44 / 50

Larry Thompson Organization

#vii. Amish Grace (2010)

- Director: Gregg Champion
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 89 minutes

The school shooting epidemic plant its way into a minor Amish customs in 2006, resulting in the death of five immature girls. Rather than demonstrate hatred, the community showed compassion and forgiveness instead. This is their story.

45 / l

#half-dozen. Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)

- Director: Peter Levin
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 104 minutes

Based on the real-life exploits of its title grapheme, this inspiring biopic follows Liz Murray (Thora Birch) as she flees from an calumniating home and lives on the streets. After losing her mother to AIDS, Murray turns her life around for good. Not only does she complete high schoolhouse, but she ends upward getting into 1 of the country's nearly prestigious universities.

You may besides like: Oscar Best Picture Winners from Worst to Commencement

46 / 50

#5. Speak (2004)

- Director: Jessica Sharzer
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Runtime: 89 minutes

A pre-"Twilight" Kristen Stewart stars alongside Elizabeth Perkins in this laurels-winning drama. Based on a acknowledged YA novel, information technology follows a mute teenager (Stewart) as she comes of age in the wake of a traumatic event. Information technology premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before arriving on the Lifetime Network.

47 / 50

Craig Anderson Productions

#iv. For the Love of a Child (2006)

- Director: Douglas Barr
- IMDb user rating: 7.four
- Runtime: 80 minutes

This historical drama tracks the cosmos of Childhelp USA, a real-life charity that helps victims of child abuse. Through a series of flashbacks, it tells the story of two world-travelling entertainers turned non-turn a profit pioneers. Likewise depicted is the journey of Jacob Fletcher, who comes to the organization seeking help equally a young male child.

48 / 50

#3. Miracle Run (2004)

- Director: Gregg Champion
- IMDb user rating: seven.four
- Runtime: 120 minutes

This Emmy-nominated drama finds a unmarried mother (Mary-Louise Parker) struggling to heighten two autistic twins. Her personal ordeal provides a broader examination of the stigmas surrounding autism. Zac Efron stars as twin Stephen Morgan, representing i of his earliest screen roles.

49 / l

Braun Entertainment Group

#two. A Daughter Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006)

50 / 50

#1. Gracie's Choice (2004)

Trending Now