(L-R): Cynthia Bailey, Camryn Manheim, Viv Leacock and Kelcey Mawema in the Lifetime movie “Cruel Instruction.”
LIFETIME
Cruel Instruction (8 p.m., Lifetime) – This new movie, inspired by real events, tells the story of 16-year-old Kayla Adams (Kelcey Mawema) whose mother, Karen Adams (Cynthia Bailey) is advised by the school’s counselor to send Kayla to get treatment at a youth residential treatment center after she gets expelled from school. From Lifetime: “Kayla arrives at the Utah facility on the same day as her roommate Amanda (Morgan Taylor Campbell), a treatment program veteran who knows exactly what the girls were in for. Led by headmistress Miss Connie (Camryn Manheim), the staff uses draconian methods including force-feeding medications, arbitrary punishments, solitary confinement, verbal and physical abuse to keep the students in line. After being pushed to their limits and stripped of their lifelines, including any ability to freely communicate with the outside world, the two young women must band together to survive and fight to expose the abuse before it’s too late.”
Note: Immediately following the movie, Lifetime will air a special Beyond the Headlines: Cruel Instruction featuring interviews with treatment program survivors. The short doc will highlight the allegations of abuse in this underregulated industry and the PTSD and anxiety that many survivors continue to live with.
48 HOURS (10 p.m., CBS) – “Dateline” covered this case in an episode last week, and now “48 HOURS” strikes with its own version of the mystery: When Missouri snake breeder Ben Renick is found dead, investigators initially think he might be the victim of an attack by one of his prized reptiles, but a closer look redirects their suspicion to his wife.
Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m., NBC) – Zoë Kravitz hosts and Rosalia performs.
Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer for more than 25 years. She is the service journalism editor and writes about TV and local media for The N&O’s Happiness is a Warm TV blog.