''The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' is an American television

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

following

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

after she is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother in 1892. It premiered on Lifetime on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015, and ended on May 25, 2015. The series is a continuation of the story begun in the network's 2014 film '' Lizzie Borden Took an Ax'' and, like the film, is fictionalized and speculative.

Plot

In 1893, four months after Lizzie Borden's acquittal for the murders of her father and stepmother, she and her sister Emma try to start a new life despite financial troubles and Lizzie's ruined reputation. Meanwhile, Pinkerton detective

Charlie Siringo Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective, bounty hunter, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Siringo was born on ...

arrives in

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

to investigate the case for himself.

Cast

Main

* Christina Ricci as

Clea DuVall Clea Helen D'Etienne DuVall (born September 25, 1977) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her appearances in the films ''The Faculty'' (1998), '' She's All That''; '' But I'm a Cheerleader''; ''Girl, Interrup ...

as Emma Borden *

Cole Hauser Cole Hauser (born March 22, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for film roles in ''Higher Learning'', ''School Ties'', '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Good Will Hunting'', '' Pitch Black'', ''Tigerland'', ''Hart's War'', ''Tears of the Sun'', '' ...

Recurring

Olivia Llewellyn Olivia Anna Cristina Llewellyn (born 1980) is an English actress, best known for her television appearances portraying Isabel Danforth in ''The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' and Mina Harker in ''Penny Dreadful''. Career Trained at the London Acade ...

as Isabel Danforth * John Ralston as Ezekiel Danforth * Dylan Taylor as Officer Leslie Trotwood *

Bradley Stryker Bradley Stryker (born June 29, 1977) is an American actor, who portrayed Trey Atwood on the FOX series ''The O.C.''. He has a lead role in the feature film, '' Tillamook Treasure'' (2006), playing Tom, the sidekick of logger Jimmy Kimbell. St ...

as Skipjack *

Jeff Wincott Jeffrey Wincott (born 8 May 1956) is a Canadian actor and martial artist best known for his lead role in the television series ''Night Heat.'' Wincott was also the star of several martial arts films in the 1990s. In 1996 he was named one of the ...

as Marshal Hilliard *

Jessy Schram Jessica Schram (born January 15, 1986) is an American actress, model and singer. Her most notable roles include Hannah Griffith in ''Veronica Mars'', Rachel Seybolt in ''Life'', Karen Nadler in '' Falling Skies'' and Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in ' ...

as Nance O'Keefe *

Rhys Coiro John Rhys Coiro (born March 12, 1979) is an American film, television, and stage actor. He began acting on Broadway but is best known for on-screen roles such as Billy Walsh on the television series ''Entourage''. Early life Born in Santo Stefa ...

as Chester Phipps * Adrian G. Griffiths as Fredrick Lowell *

Chris Bauer Mark Christopher Bauer (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work in ''The Wire'', ''Third Watch'', ''True Blood'', ''Survivor's Remorse,'' '' The Deuce and'' the Apple TV+ original science fiction spac ...

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...

Matthew Le Nevez Matthew Le Nevez (born 10 January 1979) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Doctor Patrick Reid in the TV series ''Offspring'', Detective Brian Dutch in the Tasmanian Gothic sci-fi television show '' The Kettering Incident' ...

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

Guest

* John Heard as William Almy *

Andrew Howard Andrew Howard (born June 12, 1969, in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh theatre, television and film actor. Training Howard trained at Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter in the late 1980s, touring in productions of ''A Christmas Carol'', ''Twelfth Night ...

as William Borden *

Michael Ironside Frederick Reginald Ironside (born February 12, 1950), known as Michael Ironside, is a Canadian actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, and has also portrayed sympathetic characters. E ...

as Warren Stark * Kimberly-Sue Murray as Adele *

Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...

as Mr. Flowers *

Frank Chiesurin Frank Chiesurin (born November 26 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian film and television actor. He has had roles in a variety of American and Canadian productions, including the films '' Resident Evil: Apocalypse;'' '' 12 Men of Christmas''; ''The ...

as Spencer Cavanaugh *

Ronan Vibert Ronan David Jackson Vibert (23 February 1964 – 22 December 2022) was an English actor who was known for his appearances in films and on British and American television. Early life He was born in Cambridge, on 23 February 1964, the son of Dil ...

as Dr. Vose *

Michelle Fairley Michelle Fairley (born 1964–1965) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Catelyn Stark in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2013). She has since appeared in the USA Network series '' Suits'' (2013), the ...

as Aideen Trotwood

Episodes

Production and release

In October 2014, Lifetime announced plans for an additional limited series based on the network's 2014 film ''Lizzie Borden Took an Ax''. Originally referred to as ''Lizzie Borden: The Fall River Chronicles'', the series would take place after Lizzie's trial, with Ricci and DuVall reprising their roles as the Borden sisters. Hauser was cast as Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo, who investigates other strange occurrences, including murders, centered around the Bordens. Stephen Kay directed the first two episodes. A teaser trailer calling the series ''The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' aired on December 8, 2014, during the second part of '' The Red Tent'' miniseries, promoting a 2015 premiere. It featured the

tagline In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, so ...

, "Lizzie Borden Has an Axe to Grind". ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote in October 2014 that the series would consist of six one-hour episodes, but by January 2015 the order was increased to eight. ''The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' premiered on April 5, 2015. Most - if not all - of the series was shot in Nova Scotia, Canada, using period buildings and interiors in Halifax and other nearby communities. Lifetime executive vice president and general manager Rob Sharenow said in 2014, “This series will take viewers further down Lizzie Borden’s dark path, revealing what many people suspected about her mysterious life." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' reported that "while the film was inspired by real-life events, the series will take certain creative liberties, which draw from the mysterious events surrounding the deaths of those close to Borden in the years after her acquittal." Ricci said in January 2015, "It’s an imagining of what could've happened... There are no limits of behavior. There are no rules. It's the ultimate playing a fantasy." Director Kay added, "It's what would happen if you let this woman loose on a community." Neil Genzlinger of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that "the show mixes tidbits of actual history—there really was a Charlie Siringo, for instance—with lots of fiction and speculation, so don't take anything here seriously". In June 2015, Lifetime opted to not produce further episodes. The complete series was released on DVD by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

on February 2, 2016.

Reception

The series has garnered mixed reviews despite high praise for Ricci's performance as Borden. Jane Borden of '' Vanity Fair'' called the series "playful, wicked brain candy", adding that "Ricci was born to play a 19th-century ax murderer, as it turns out." Keith Uhlich of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote, "Christina Ricci brings us the axe! Would that her effort was worth it" and Deborah Day of ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...

'' noted, "Christina Ricci kills it, but even her brand of crazy is not enough." Praising Ricci's Lizzie as "gleeful and ruthless", ''The New York Times'' called the series "period-piece television served with a wink".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lizzie Borden Chronicles, The 2010s American drama television series 2015 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings 2010s American documentary television series English-language television shows Cultural depictions of Lizzie Borden Television series set in the 1890s Lesbian-related television shows Television series based on actual events Television shows set in Massachusetts Television series by Sony Pictures Television Lifetime (TV network) original programming 2010s horror television series