Catherine Bell Shares Real-Life Story Behind Lifetime’s ‘Jailbreak Lovers’
Good Witch alum Catherine Bell is starring in Lifetime’s latest Ripped From The Headlines movie, Jailbreak Lovers. Starring alongside her is Tom Stevens. The two recently shared some back stories about this movie.
What is the real story behind this new movie? Read on to find out.
What Is The Real-Life Story Behind Lifetime’s Ripped From The Headlines Movie Jailbreak Lovers?
Lifetime’s final Summer 2022 Ripped From The Headlines movie is Jailbreak Lovers. The stars of the movie, Catherine Bell, and Tom Stevens, recently spoke to Media Village about the real-life story that inspired this movie.
In this movie, Catherine Bell portrays Toby Dorr. She is from Kansas and has always walked the straight and narrow. She started a non-profit dog rescue program that had a rehabilitation program where prison inmates help train and heal the rescue dogs.
There, Toby meets a very friendly inmate, John Manard (Stevens). He has a knack for training the dogs, and the two become fast friends. Soon, it becomes intimate and soon enough, Toby is helping John escape in a dog crate. The two plan to run away together and live happily ever after.
Tom Stevens explained that “The true story between Toby and John is a little darker in reality than the story that we told. I’m sure that that story was darker, too. I mean, we can have with this because we’re making a movie about it, but these people were going through something, and it’s more serious when it’s real.”
He then explained, “We kind of tell the fictitious fun side of this.”
Bell admitted, “And, yes, this is a crazy world. It’s something that, hopefully, most people will never experience.”
“Then there’s that other concept of, ‘What were they thinking, and why would someone do that?’ Hopefully, [viewers will] get a little taste of that with what Tom and I did — how [Toby and John] fell in love and what led this to this crazy idea that they might get away with running away together.”
Catherine Bell And Tom Stevens Developed Special Connection Filming Lifetime Movie
Both Catherine Bell and Tom Stevens were not familiar with the 2006 case when they first took on their roles. However, the idea of escaping in a dog crate did ring a bell with Stevens.
Yet, the experience itself was fantastic. Bell shared, “I had such an incredible time working with Tom, and our connection was really, really special.” She revealed that she only had to look in his eyes, “and it was all there.” Moreover, this was a different role for her, and having to put trust in her fellow actor was so important.
Stevens felt the same way. He shared that there were “a lot of layers to John.” Luckily, he was able to stay on track because he was working with Bell. “I learned that I could trust in Catherine whenever I felt lost in a scene.”
Art And Real Life Merged
Right after they filmed Lifetime’s Jailbreak Lovers, another similar real-life story was playing out in the news. Back in April, Vicky White, an Alabama corrections officer helped non-related prison inmate, Casey Cole White, with the same last name, escape from prison.
Catherine Bell described it as “life imitating art imitating life.” She realized that these jailbreak stories do happen a “fair amount” but, “you’re never going to get away with it, you know. That one ended very tragically, but it’s fascinating.”
Don’t miss the Ripped From The Headlines movie Jailbreak Lovers on Saturday, July 2, at 8 p.m., EST, on the Lifetime Channel.
