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News: Lifetime’s <i>Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story</i> Starring Christina Ricci Premieres January 19

**Updated 10/16/18 with new title, release date, and trailer**

GOLDEN GLOBE® AND EMMY® NOMINEES 
CHRISTINA RICCI AND JUDITH LIGHT
SET TO STAR IN LIFETIME PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story

PREMIERING JANUARY 19

ALSO STARRING JOSH BOWMAN, 
MOVIE INSPIRED BY THE TRUE STORY OF PIONEERING JOURNALIST 

WHO WENT UNDERCOVER IN A MENTAL ASYLUM

Lifetime has greenlit the psychological thriller Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, starring Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominated actress Christina Ricci (Monster), as 19th century pioneering journalist, Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, who published under the name of Nellie Bly.

The Lifetime feature is inspired by her undercover stay at the impenetrable Women’s Lunatic Asylum on New York’s Blackwell’s island. Two-time Tony award-winner and Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Judith Light (Transparent) is also set to star as Matron Grady, the head nurse who tortured her patients into submission while Josh Bowman (Revenge) takes on the role of Dr. Josiah.  This marks Ricci’s return to Lifetime following her SAG nominated performance in the limited series, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and the prequel movie, Lizzie Borden Took An Axe.  Nellie Bly is currently in production and will make its debut in 2018 on Lifetime.

Nellie Bly

On a mission to expose the deplorable conditions and mistreatment of patients at the notorious Women’s Lunatic Asylum, investigative reporter Nellie Bly (Ricci) feigns mental illness in order to be institutionalized to report from the inside. The movie delivers an intense and fictionalized account of actual events surrounding Nellie’s stay beginning after Nellie has undergone treatment, leaving her with no recollection of how she came to the asylum or her real identity.  Nellie’s unwillingness to submit to authority results in unspeakable torture at the hands of the head nurse, Matron Grady (Light). When Nellie captures the attention of Dr. Josiah (Bowman) who tries to help her, Grady’s barbaric tactics only intensify, leading Nellie to questions if she actually does belong in the asylum after all.

A real-life hero, Nellie Bly’s expose was the first of its kind in America and inspired the global reformation of mental health care.

Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story is executive Produced by Howard Braunstein of Howard Braunstein Films, along with Ricci of Grey Team Productions. Michael Tive, David Sigal, Peter Werner and Jonathan Baruch also serve as executive producers with Karen Moncrieff directing (Petals on the Wind) from a screenplay by Helen Childress (Reality Bites).

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Source  © 2018 Lifetime Networks, an affiliate of A+E Networks. All Rights Reserved.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.