
Tonight’s “ripped from the headlines” Lifetime movie,
The Killer Inside: The Ruth Finley Story, follows the title character (Teri Hatcher) and her husband, Ed (Tahmoh Penikett), who live a peaceful life in Kansas until it is suddenly upended when Ed suffers a heart attack. As Ed fights for his survival, Ruth starts receiving terrifying threats, convincing her that she will be the next victim of the BTK killer. Ruth is abducted, yet returns shortly after, leaving police confused and trying to find answers. As new evidence surfaces, it becomes apparent that the kidnapper may be someone close to Ruth.
Penikett knew he wanted to be a part of the project as soon as he heard Hatcher was attached, whom he had nothing but praise for. “[Y]ou hear of a veteran, accomplished, respected actor of the caliber of Terry Hatcher…you want to jump on board, and you want to work with them,” the actor told SciFi Vision during a recent interview, adding that he was a fan of her work.
The actor was even more encouraged once he read the script. “I was really excited,” said Penikett. “I love films like this, films that are based on true stories. I think there's a real appetite out there with people in the audience to hear stories like this…[E]ven though a lot of these stories are based in fact and history that we've seen before, people are drawn to them it. It reminds them of something they can relate to a lot more, because oftentimes it's from a real period in their life that they remember and it affected them.”