EXCLUSIVE: Jennifer Beals (The L Word) and Katheryn Winnick (Vikings, Big Sky) are set to lead the new Lifetime Original movie Murder in Cold Country, based on a story by bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, creator of the Rizzoli & Isles series, and Dan Rosen.
Beals and Winnick will portray detectives brought together by tragedy, bound by duty and forced to confront a killer whose crimes hit terrifyingly close to home. Murder in Cold Country will debut on Lifetime in winter 2027.
The movie’s logline is as follows: Miami-based detective Maya Lewis (Beals) is still haunted by a brutal encounter with a serial killer who murdered her husband and held her captive for days. Desperate to rebuild her life, Maya relocates to Alaska, where she is partnered with Detective Joanna Doyle (Winnick), an accomplished officer carrying the weight of her own devastating past. The women recognize each other from group therapy and immediately are distrustful of one another. When their first case involves another therapy-group member who has been targeted by a killer using methods eerily similar to those from Maya’s past, the detectives must set aside their differences to uncover the truth.
Murder in Cold Country will be showcased in the international market this October at MIP. AEGM handles international rights for the movie.
The movie is produced by Bruce Harvey for CMW Valley Productions Inc. in association with Studio TF1 America. Stacy Mandelberg, Timothy O. Johnson, Meghan Hooper White, Gerritsen and Rosen executive produce. Greg Beeman directs from a screenplay by Tess Gerritsen and Dan Rosen.
Beals is an actress and co-founder of the media company Run-A-Muck alongside Ilene Chaiken and Pam Drucker Mann. Her credits include The L Word, The Book of Boba Fett, Luckiest Girl Alive and Devil in a Blue Dress. Beals will next be seen starring in CBS’ NCIS: New York and the upcoming Prime Video thriller drama series Bishop. Beals is repped by CAA, Constellation Media Group, and Felker McGinnis and Ryan LLP.
Winnick is an actress and founder of the production company Kat Scratch Inc. She is widely recognized for playing Lagertha on the TV series Vikings and for her work on David E. Kelley’s Big Sky for ABC and Sean Penn’s Flag Day. Up next, Winnick will be seen in My New Friend Jim and The Last Cargo. Through the work under her banner, she has expanded into directing and executive producing. She is represented by CAA, Alchemy Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.