Lifetime’s Saturday night “ripped from the headlines” feature this week is Girl in the Closet, a story about an abusive con artist and criminal who, upon receiving custody of her niece, keeps her trapped in a closet. As if that’s not bad enough, she’s just one of many prisoners housed within the walls of this sadistic woman’s home.
Girl in the Closet is part of Lifetime’s “Girl in” series, which the network describes as “harrowing stories of women who survive horrific circumstances.” Previous entries include Girl in the Box (2016), Girl in the Bunker (2018), Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez (2022), and Girl in Room 13 (2022).
As for when and how you’ll be able to watch Lifetime’s Girl in the Basement, we’ve got all of those details covered. Here’s everything you need to know about watching and/or streaming Girl in the Closet on Lifetime.
Girl in the Closet premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET. If you don’t have a TV or would rather watch it online, you can stream the movie via Lifetime’s website if you have a cable login.
If you don’t have a cable login, you can watch Lifetime’s content as it airs via the following live TV streaming services: frndly, Hulu, Sling TV, and Philo.
Following the movie’s premiere on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET, Girl in the Closet will re-air on Lifetime at the following times:
If you don’t want to wait for Lifetime to rerun Girl in the Closet, you can still stream it online whenever you want to following its premiere. You will be able to stream Girl in the Closet on Lifetime’s website for free (with ads). You can also stream it on-demand via frndly, Hulu, Sling TV, and Philo.
Tami Roman (The Ms. Pat Show, Basketball Wives) plays Aunt Mia; Remy Ma (Queens, Love and Hip Hop: New York) plays Cameron’s mother Patricia; Brielle Oliver (Kingdom Business) and Daijah Peters (Famous-ish) play Cameron at different ages; Danielle LaRoach (A House Divided) plays Nancy.
While The Girl in the Closet is not based on one particular story, it was at least partially inspired by the true story of Lauren Kavanaugh. Literally dubbed “the girl in the closet” by the media upon her rescue in June 2001, 8-year-old Kavanaugh was kept in a closet for six years where she was repeatedly abused by her mother Barbara Atkinson and her stepfather Kenneth Atkinson. The police received a tip from the Atkinson’s neighbor that their daughter was being abused, but there’s really not a word strong enough to describe the horrifying mental, physical, and sexual trauma that Lauren’s parents inflicted upon her.
There are some similarities between The Girl in the Closet and Lauren’s story. In both cases the victim was taken away from a guardian and placed in the custody of an abuser. In Lauren’s case, she was taken away from her adoptive mother when her birth mother changed her mind about putting Lauren up for adoption. And while the Atkinsons didn’t keep other prisoners in their home, they did have five other children who also endured varying levels of neglect and abuse.
If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.
Girl in the Closet premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET