On the heels of the “Flowers in the Attic,” Lifetime will premiere its sequel “Petals on the Wind” on Memorial Day (Mon., May 26, at 9:00 p.m. ET). Because what better way to celebrate a national holiday than with a movie about incest, drug use and dancing?
If you've forgotten (or haven't read) the books, this TV movie will be based on the second gothic novel of the iconic V.C. Andrews series about the Dollanganger family. The film begins ten years after the siblings have escaped the attic, where their mother Corrine (Heather Graham, “Drugstore Cowboy”) and grandmother Olivia (Ellen Burstyn, “Political Animals”) kept them locked away for more than two years. And, you know, they had their sexual awakening and all that. While eating poisoned donuts. Good times!
A decade after Cathy (Rose McIver, “Masters of Sex,” “Once Upon a Time”), Christopher (Wyatt Nash, “Pretty Little Liars”) and Carrie (Bailey Buntain, “Bunheads”) escaped from their grandparents” attic at Foxworth Hall, “Petals on the Wind” continues to follow the plight of the family as they attempt to put their sordid past behind them. Unfortunately, they soon discover certain secrets can”t be left behind. Like incest.
When Cathy finds herself in an abusive relationship with a fellow dancer, Julian (Will Kemp, “90210”), Christopher and Cathy are forced to face the forbidden feelings (read: incest) they developed for one another while coming of age during captivity. But when tragedy strikes the Dollangangers once again, Cathy returns to Foxworth Hall to confront her grandmother and seek revenge on her mother with a plan to seduce her husband Bart (Dylan Bruce, “Orphan Black”). When Christopher runs to Cathy”s side, the two are determined to start over again – together.
Of course, the decision to film the sequel was pretty obvious, given that “Flowers in the Attic” garnered 6.1 million viewers in its January 18th world premiere, making it ad-supported cable”s most-watched original movie in the demo since 2012.
Andrews” first published novel, “Flowers in the Attic,” was an instant hit when it was released in 1979, topping bestseller lists in just two weeks. “Petals on the Wind,” the series” second book, also hit the bestsellers list when it was released in 1980. After Lifetime”s premiere of “Flowers in the Attic,” the novel quickly returned to the bestsellers list. To date, 106 million copies of V.C. Andrews” books have been published in 95 countries.
Lifetime is currently in development on three additional V.C. Andrews” books, including “If There Be Thorns” and “Seeds of Yesterday,” both from the Dollananger series, and the stand-alone novel “My Sweet Audrina.”