Los Angeles, CA) – January 26, 2023 – Continuing with Lifetime’s mission to provide a platform for unheard voices, the network announces the greenlight and airdate for the original movie Black Girl Missing, from executive producer and star Garcelle Beauvais (Spider-Man: Homecoming, White House Down), inspired by actual stories of missing women of color and tells the story of a mother whose daughter is missing, only for authorities and media to dismiss her as a runaway while focusing heavily on another missing girl who is white. Black Girl Missing premieres Saturday, March 4th at 8/7c.
The movie is part of Lifetime’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign. A new PSA for Black and Missing Foundation will be part of the movie’s rollout featuring Beauvais.
About Black Girl Missing
When Cheryl (Garcelle Beauvais) gets into an argument with her daughter Lauren (Iyana Halley) over her desire to drop out of college, she initially thinks Lauren is simply ignoring her calls and texts, but Cheryl soon realizes Lauren is missing. While she attempts to get help from authorities and the media, they quickly dismiss the case, labeling Lauren as a runaway while they are all too consumed with another case – that of a missing white girl. Desperate to find Lauren, Cheryl and her 15-year-old daughter Marley (Taylor Mosby) enlist the help of a dedicated community of amateur internet sleuths to try to find Lauren. Cheryl also discovers the Black and Missing Foundation and is horrified to discover the disparity in how missing persons of color cases are treated with significant lack of media attention and law enforcement resources.
The movie also stars Linda Park, as Elise, a local reporter who tries to help Cheryl, against the orders of the news director.
Derrica and Natalie Wilson, founders of Black and Missing Foundation, serve as consultants on the film.Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAMF) has been established as a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring awareness to missing persons of color, provide vital resources and tools to missing person’s families and friends and to educate the minority community on personal safety. Garcelle Beauvais will also be featured in a new PSA in support of Black and Missing Foundation’s efforts.
Black Girl Missing is produced for Lifetime by Johnson Production Group in association with Motion Content Group. Garcelle Beauvais, Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg, Gordon Gilbertson, Jason Egenberg, Richard Foster and Chet Fenster are executive producers. Delmar Washington (Outsiders) directs from a script written by Kale Futterman (Samir).
As a companion to the movie, Lifetime will debut the special, Beyond the Headlines: Black Girl Missing, following true stories of black and missing women featuring interviews with their families and Black and Missing Foundations’s involvement in the cases. Produced by AMS, Andy Streitfeld serves as EP and Kim Clemons is the showrunner. Natalie and Derrica Wilson of the Black and Missing Foundation are also consultants.
