TNT unveils promo for new “Mystery Movie Night” franchise

By Jeff Pfeiffer

Better look out, Lifetime! You may no longer have the market cornered on melodramatic movies about murder and mayhem once TNT begins its new Mystery Movie Night franchise this fall, airing Tuesdays (and a couple of Wednesdays) at 9pm ET/PT from Nov. 29-Dec. 20.

The TNT Mystery Movie Night will be a showcase of contemporary crime dramas, based on popular novels and with notable stars, kicking off with Bill Pullman, Marcia Gay Harden and Alfred Molina in Scott Turow’s Innocent (pictured) on Nov. 29. The film is a sequel to Turow’s bestseller Presumed Innocent, with Pullman playing Rusty Sabich, a judge charged with the murder of his wife (Harden) — a situation that comes 20 years after he was cleared in the death of his mistress.

Other Mystery Movie Night titles will include:

Ricochet — Nov. 30. John Corbett stars as Det. Sgt. Duncan Hunter in this adaptation of Sandra Brown’s bestseller about two homicide detectives who find their careers — and lives — on the line when they get caught up in a case of murder and betrayal in high-society Savannah. Gary Cole plays a corrupt judge whom Hunter is investigating, with Julie Benz as the judge’s wife, with whom Hunter becomes romantically involved and Kadeem Hardison as a fellow detective.

Hide — Dec. 6. Lisa Gardner’s book comes to life as Carla Gugino plays Boston police detective D.D. Warren, who tries to uncover the secret past of a young woman in order to unravel the mystery behind her twisted family history. Bridget Regan and Mark-Paul Gosselaar star.

Silent Witness — Dec. 7. Dermot Mulroney stars in this legal drama based on the Richard North Patterson novel as defense attorney Tony Lord, who returns to his hometown to defend an old friend, who is accused of murdering a student. The case reopens the heartache from Tony’s own high school days, when he was a student falsely accused of murdering his first love. Michael Cudlitz (Southland), Anne Heche and Judd Hirsch costar.

Good Morning, Killer — Dec. 13. April Smith adapts her own novel for this thriller starring Catherine Bell as FBI Special Agent Ana Gray, an undercover operative tracking a serial kidnapper. Cole Hauser and William Devane also star.

Deck the Halls — Dec. 20. Based on the first book in Mary Higgins Clark and daughter Carol Higgins Clark’s series of holiday mystery novels, this story brings together two of the authors’ most popular characters : cleaning-woman-turned-private-eye Alvirah Meegan (Kathy Najimy) and Detective Regan Reilly (Scottie Thompson). The women investigate the kidnapping of Regan’s father and a young female driver just before the holidays. Jane Alexander plays Regan’s mother, famed mystery writer Nora Regan Reilly.

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“Innocent” photo credit: James Dittiger