Imagine having a life filled with love, money, and success. What could possibly go wrong?
Based on a true crime story, Ally Sheedy heads an all-star cast in CITIZEN JANE playing an extraordinary woman who had all of the above, until one day everything came crashing down.
The tale begins when Sheedy’s character, Jane Alexander, discovers that her beloved aunt has been gruesomely murdered. Refusing to accept that her aunt’s killer will go untried, the film follows Alexander in her relentless efforts to uncover and prosecute the killer, despite the risk to her own life.
“There’s something inspiring about it,” says Sheedy, famous for her roles in the eighties Brat Pack hits, The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire. “She’s just a normal woman like everybody else. This happens to her, and she takes care of it.”
When Alexander begins collecting evidence with help from Detective Jack Morris (Grammy-winner Meat Loaf Aday), it leads her to someone she would never suspect of the crime: her boyfriend, Tom O’Donnell (Sean Patrick Flannery). It took Alexander 13 years to collect enough evidence to convict her aunt’s killer.
After solving her aunt’s case, Jane Alexander began a career as a victims’ rights activist, solving 20 murders before passing away in December 2008 from kidney cancer. She also co-founded Citizens Against Homicide, an organization focused on finding justice for the families of murder victims. Today, there are over 5,000 members in all 50 states.
Alexander’s main source of support comes from her best friend, Evelyn, portrayed by Nia Peeples (ex-Karen, YOUNG AND RESTLESS). Peoples notes, “My character was very instrumental in supporting Jane [during] what she was going through — standing by her side.”
Filmed on location in San Francisco, the movie highlights many of the city’s attractions, including Lombard Street, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf.
“San Francisco was wonderful,” Peeples said of her experience on set. “[We got] to go out and see what’s happening in the town.”
Peeples has been acting for 25 years, gaining fame for her break out role as Nicole Chapman on the TV adaptation of the hit film Fame. In May, she finished a stint as Karen Taylor on Y&R.
Reflecting on her two years on the soap, Peeples states that “coming from prime-time television and film to daytime, the whole process is very different. We’ll shoot on a prime-time series about nine pages a day and on my first day, we shot 103 pages on Y&R. The experiences I had and the people there were just great.”
Peeples confirmed that she would not be reprising her role as Karen. When asked if she would ever appear on another soap again, she said, “It would depend on what it was and what was happening in my life.”
CITIZEN JANE premieres Saturday, September 12th at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel, with encores at 11 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m.
