Girl in the Video First Look: Cush Jumbo is a Fierce Mama Bear in Lifetime’s True Crime Thriller

A mother will stop at nothing to protect her young.

And when Cush Jumbo plays that mother, you can already bet a fantastic performance will buoy that story.

Lifetime will kick the new year off with more pulse-pounding Ripped from the Headlines stories that set you on edge, and one of our first forays into the slate will be another film connected to the “Girl in” slate.

Girl in the Video will be gracing our screens on January 13.

But fret not; TV Fanatic has an exclusive first look at the trailer and what’s in store. Buckle your seat belts, as this one is about to be a thrilling ride!

We’ll be breaking in the new year with Girl in the Video, the latest addition to the “Girl in” franchise. Notably, previous original series from that franchise include Girl in the Closet, Girl in Room 13, Girl in the Basement, Girl in the Shed, Girl in the Box, and Girl in the Bunker.

One of many things the “Girl In” franchise has going for it is a strong cast with talented and recognizable leads.

Girl in Room 13 was helmed by the late Anne Heche, one of her final projects for her fans to enjoy. Judd Nelson was bone-chilling in the disturbing Girl in the Basement.

The same could be said about Ben Savage’s eerie performance in Girl in the Shed, while Remy Ma flexed her acting skills with strong results in Girl in the Closet.

These ripped-from-the-headlines films are inspired by true stories that set your hair on end and have been some of the most compelling and disturbing of the network yet.

Lifetime continues to solidify its place as a network that produces some remarkable true crime films.

Related: Bill Pullman Reflects on Remarkable Murdaugh Murders Transformation and More

And Girl in the Video will be no exception as the film stars the incomparable Cush Jumbo.

In Girl in the Video, Jumbo stars as a widowed single mother, Mo, who does her best to raise two teenagers alone.

Unfortunately, things take a more complicated turn for her when her daughter Krissy, played by Tia May Watts, has developed a bond with a mysterious person online.

Fresh off of losing a father, Krissy is understandably in a vulnerable state and seeks solace and comfort in an online relationship with a guy she’s chatting with in secret.

It’s a tale as old as the internet itself, with a young teen enamored by an online relationship with a crush, in this case, who she presumes to be Toby, a high school senior who expresses interest in her.

“Toby” successfully manages to lure Krissy out of the house one night under the guise of heading to a party, and when Krissy never returns home and is nowhere to be found by morning, Mo is beside herself.

Mo joins forces with her teenage son, Robbie, and local detectives in search of her daughter, but a tip leads to the type of dread that is every parent’s worst fear.

Related: Buying Back My Daughter Review: An Unflinching Look at How Trafficking Prevails

Krissy is a victim of the dark web, held captive and sexually abused on live streams for money, and the race is on for Mo, Robbie, and the cops to find Krissy before her captor murders her.

It sounds like a positively pulse-pounding film that will also serve as an unflinching look at the epidemic of sexual trafficking and exploitation on the dark web.

And if you think reading about it was enough to set you on edge, then get a sneak peek at the film below with our exclusive promo!

Girl in the Video was produced by ITN Productions for Lifetime and filmed in Norfolk, England.

It was executive produced by Ian Russell, written by Matthew Broughton, and directed by Neil Rawles.

It’s the first in Lifetime’s January and February slate of original movies, followed by:

Dying in Plain Sight

Starring Morgan Cruz and Nicola Correia-Damude, this movie explores generational relationships and their impact concerning food when an overweight teen’s complex dynamic with her mother results in eating disorders. It premieres on January 20.

Confessions of a Cam Girl

Starring Megan Best, Camille Sullivan, and Josh Bogert, it explores an ambitious woman who wants to attend Fashion school and creates an explicit website to fund her dream, only for it to have disastrous results for her and her family when her secret comes out. It premieres on January 27.

A Mother’s Intuition

Starring Denise Boutte, Matt Cedeño, Brely Evans, and Tamar Braxton, it is about when a new mom’s newborn goes missing, she’ll stop at nothing to uncover the truth, and it’s beyond what she could’ve ever bargained for or imagined. It premieres on February 3.

Abducted Off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Story

Starring Riele Downs and Kenya Moore. It’s the unsettling account of a Philadelphia healthcare worker whom a murderer abducts and how she had to fight for her life literally.

While Carlesha’s mother makes impassioned pleas and fights a media-front battle to get her daughter home, Carlesha outwits her captor at every turn. The film premieres on February 10.

Girl in the Video premieres Saturday, January 13, on Lifetime at 8/7c!

Hit the comments and let us know if you’ll be tuning into this film!

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.

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