Lifetime recently blessed us with the Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig-fronted Deadly Adoption and has been churning out campy, behind-the-scenes biopics like the upcoming Beverly Hills, 90210 and Full House movies, but now the network is turning its attention to something a bit darker—the Manson Family murders. The flick, which has the working title of Manson’s Lost Girls, will center on the group of young women who were seduced by Charles Manson and carried out his “Helter Skelter” murder spree in August of 1969.
The story will focus on Linda Kasabian, played by Into the Woods’ MacKenzie Mauzy. She meets Manson and his “family” at their Spahn Ranch commune and quickly becomes a member. Deadline has the scoop:
Seduced by the group’s free-love lifestyle, Linda revels in a profound sense of sisterhood and acceptance. She is especially taken with Manson, who soon draws her into criminal activities, including late-night “creepy crawls” breaking into and stealing from lavish homes. Linda begins to see the evil in Manson, but the others remain fiercely loyal.
After the Tate-LaBianca killings, which included the gruesome murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Kasabian turned herself in and became the key witness for the prosecution, receiving immunity for her testimony. The rest of the cast includes Jeff Ward as Manson, Greer Grammer as Leslie Van Houten, Christian Madsen as “Tex” Watson and Eden Brolin as Susan “Sadie” Atkins, who was considered to be the most violent of the Manson girls.
Image of Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten in 1970, via AP.
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