Luke Macfarlane is well known for his comedy and Hallmark offerings, while Kirsten Vangsness is well known for hunting down the bad guys on Criminal Minds.
The pair join forces for Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story, which finds the couple plotting a murder.
The Lifetime original movie premieres Saturday, September 30, at 8 p.m. on the cabler and focuses on an affair gone wrong.
The flick revisits the story of a man who called himself “Amish Stud” and his plan with his mistress to murder his wife, to the horror of his conservative Amish community.
Amish Stud is based on the book A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold-Blooded Murder by bestselling authors Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris.
“Devoted to her husband, kids and faith, Barbara Weaver (Miranda MacDougall) was content leading a traditional life in her conservative Ohio Amish community—with no modern conveniences,” the logline teases.
“Her husband Eli (Luke Macfarlane), however, wanted the things that were forbidden to him as an Amish man.”
“He gave into the temptations of women and technology, leading a secret life with the online alias “Amish Stud” to meet with women outside of his marriage bed,” Lifetime adds.
“Eli found his pick of curious women fascinated by the Amish lifestyle, and often spoke to his mistresses about his desire to kill his wife.”
“When Barbara is found dead from a shotgun wound, all eyes turn to Eli,” the cabler teases of the movie.
“But with his rock- solid alibi (fishing with friends at the time of the shooting), investigators had nowhere to turn, until they discover Eli had a secret cell phone.”
“Their investigations led them to Barb Raber (Kirsten Vangsness), a married Conservative Mennonite who had been having an affair with Eli and who was plotting with him to murder his wife.”
“Ultimately, it is up to the detectives investigating the crime to find justice for Barbara Weaver.”
TV Fanatic scored an exclusive first look at one of the most pivotal scenes in the movie, with Eli and Barb being caught in a compromising situation and deciding to kill Barbara.
It features Macfarlane and Vangsness like never before, and teases the inciting incident that changes the trajectory of their lives forever.
Check out the exclusive scene below.
Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story is produced for Lifetime by Stud Productions Inc., in association with Milojo Productions Johnson Production Group.
Tim Johnson from Johnson Production Group, as well as Laurie Pozmantier, Gregg Olsen, and Rebecca Morris, executive produce alongside Luke McFarlane.
Jill Goldhand is a Co-executive producer. Stacey Harding directs from a script by Hunter Smith and Kim Izzo.
Additional cast members include Brent Stait, Mark Krysko, Clare Filipow, Kara Cubitt, Millan Tesfazgi, Milo Shandel, Dean Paul Gibson, Brad Abramenko, Larry MacDonald, Michael Querin, Ryder Miller, Peter Chao, Nelson Giles, Lilliana Nekrash, and Laura MacDonald.
Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story joins a star-studded Ripped From the Headlines fall schedule that also includes Bill Pullman as Alex Murdaugh, as well as Melissa Joan Hart and Meagan Good.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.