Saturday, May 18, 2024

Lifetime movie "The Bad Guardian" based on real accounts of guardianship abuse

Executive producer tells I-Team she wants to educate viewers


For more than a decade, ABC Action News investigative reporter Adam Walser and photojournalist Randy Wright have exposed problems with court-ordered guardianship in our ongoing series “The Price of Protection”. Guardianship is supposed to protect vulnerable seniors, but the I-Team has uncovered it often leads to isolation, exploitation, and abuse. The topic is at the center of a movie premiering on Lifetime Network Saturday.

HOLLYWOOD, CA — For more than a decade, ABC Action News investigative reporter Adam Walser and photojournalist Randy Wright have exposed problems with court-ordered guardianship in our ongoing series “The Price of Protection”.

Guardianship is supposed to protect vulnerable seniors, but the I-Team has uncovered it often leads to isolation, exploitation, and abuse.

The topic is at the center of a movie premiering on Lifetime Network Saturday.

Adam spoke with the movie’s producer about how she hopes the fictional story will educate viewers about the real-life dangers of guardianship.

The movie is called “The Bad Guardian” and stars Melissa Joan Hart and La La Anthony.

“The one way that I saw there was somewhat of a pattern of people getting their loved ones out was through the press, people like you who were shining a light on this story,” said the movie’s executive producer Elizabeth Stephen.

She said she spent years researching guardianship abuse.

“Every single turn of events is true. It's all real. And, you know, it's shocking. I mean, I was looking at some of your pieces this morning, and it reminded me that this is the stuff that really happens,” Stephen said. “What happens is they get into the system, and then, as you know, it's almost impossible to get out.”

She said the fictional story comes from real-life accounts of abusive guardianship she learned about in press accounts or from people who work in organizations to protect vulnerable seniors from abuse.

“It's just shocking. Anybody that I watched the film with, they all talk back to the screen, and they look at me and say, No, this couldn't happen. No,” Stephen said.

The movie airs on Lifetime Saturday at 8 p.m.

If you or your family is a victim of a predatory guardianship, contact the I-Team at adam@abcactionnews.com

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Lifetime movie "The Bad Guardian" based on real accounts of guardianship abuse

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