If you don't have cable, you might only think of Lifetime movies when Christmas rolls around and it's time to go visit a relative who does have cable. This is pretty common in the streaming era, and you may catch a handful of Lifetime movies on Netflix without even knowing it.
Lifetime's film library is made up of much more than Christmas movies. The network has a long, winding history that distinguishes their TV movies from others. Now is a good time to watch something new and different, and the catalog of options from Lifetime might just surprise you. Here are ten things you never knew about Lifetime movies and the cable network that created them.
Television For Women
It's important to look at Lifetime's movie empire within the context of the original network, which was launched in 1984. Lifetime was a merger of two networks, Daytime and Cable Health Network. In her book Redesigning Women, scholar Amanda Lotz explains that the channel "began promoting its female focus in 1994," started its "Television for Women" brand campaign in 1995, and gave strong efforts to further craft a brand with original series. They even spent almost "eight million dollars developing four pilots, three of which aired during the 1998-99 season."
First Movie 30 Years Ago
In addition to acquiring syndicated series and creating original series, Lifetime is known for its TV movies. The first Lifetime movie was Memories of a Murder in 1990. The film starred Nancy Allen, who played a woman who gets amnesia and thereby forgets about a psychopath that is out to kill her family.
Lifetime acknowledges that many of their '90s movies covered "teens in trouble or mothers in danger." It's all part of their history and identity.
Women In Leadership
Lifetime stayed focused on their female viewership behind the scenes, too. They hired female writers or directors for 73 percent of their movies between the years 1994 and 2016 (as noted on their website). That is certainly an achievement, and it shows dedication to empowering women in the television industry. Some female actors have gained notoriety from their starring roles in these movies, too.
Lifetime Movie Network
It made sense for Lifetime to try to move ahead of the times. They launched Lifetime Online in 1996. In 1998, it was time for an even bigger development: Lifetime Movie Network. Just like it sounds, this is a network with all-day movie marathons. Lifetime's movies proved to be the most successful of their ventures, so it made sense to capitalize on the films' popularity.
Not for All Women?
As much as some women of the '90s loved Lifetime's movies, the network recognized that they're not necessarily for everyone. In Redesigning Women, Amanda Lotz explains an additional strategy of creating the Lifetime Movie Network. The original Lifetime channel could now "devote less of its daily schedule to replaying older films, while not forfeiting the value of what had developed into an expansive film archive. The main network could then counter-program itself, making space... for content more likely to appeal to women uninterested in the network's films."
Lifetime Movie Club
Still ahead of their time, Lifetime anticipated the streaming era pretty early on. They launched Lifetime Movie Club in 2015, boasting of 2,000+ titles (some original, some acquired by Lifetime). A quick look at Movie Club website shows that the service only costs $3.99 a month, and the movies are commercial-free.
Based on a True Story
It's normal to catch a Lifetime flick with a flashy headline story, like Rob Lowe's 2013 movie in which he plays the Florida District Attorney from the Casey Anthony trial. While people try to group Lifetime films with Hallmark, they aren't all sunshine and rainbows. Many plot lines are quite disturbing, including rapes, murders, prostitution scandals, and more.
Christmas Queens
On the other hand, Lifetime has come into their own with their collection of Christmas movies. These don't all have quite the same flavor that Hallmark's movies do.
The storylines are good, there's something new to look forward to every year, and the talent is great. Melissa Joan Hart is certainly a Christmas Queen for this network, much like Candace Cameron Bure is on Hallmark.
Nearly Dropped
In 1996, Telecommunications, Inc. planned to drop the Lifetime network to make room for Rupert Murdoch's Fox, Inc. This would have taken the network out of a million cable-watching homes. Who knows how that fate could have affected Lifetime's movies? Thankfully, women's groups protested. Some still lost the network, but it could have been much worse.
Continuity in Social Media
Cable networks ebb and flow, but some things just come full circle. While Lifetime has expanded its reach and has made a wide variety of films, their social media reveals the heart of the brand. They have a steady stream of biopics and serious true stories, but they also embrace their "Ripped from the Headlines" reputation. The collection of posts on their Instagram follows more current movies, like Stolen by My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story, but also reminds fans of attention-grabbing classics, like Fifteen and Pregnant.