Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: The story of Drew Peterson, charged with the death of his third wife after the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife, is coming to television, with Rob Lowe playing the charismatic, womanizing Chicago-area police officer. Also cast in the project is The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco as Peterson’s fourth wife, 23-year-old Stacy, who was 30 years his junior. In May 2010, after Stacy’s mysterious disappearance, Peterson seemingly basked in the attention from the national media while denying any connection to Stacy’s disappearance. But after following up on tips from a neighbor, authorities arrested Peterson and indicted him for the murder of his previous wife, Kathleen. Her 2004 death — Kathleen was found drowned in an empty bathtub — had been initially ruled an accident, but upon exhumation and second forensic examination, that was changed to homicide. Peterson is currently in prison awaiting trial. The movie, tentative titled The Drew Peterson Story aka Ladykiller, will explore the two cases and any possible connections between them. It was written by Teena Booth, who also penned Lifetime’s movies about the unsolved disappearance of another young girl, Natalee Holloway. It was based on the nonfiction book Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Drew Peterson by Joseph Hosey, a reporter with the Chicago area’s Herald News who has followed closely the Drew Peterson case. Judith Verno (The Craigslist Killer, Natalee Holloway) will executive produce the film, produced by Peace Out Prods. Lowe, repped by WME and Brillstein Entertainment, and Cuoco, repped by SDB Partners and Brillstein, will shoot the movie while on hiatus from their comedy series, NBC’s Parks and Recreation and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, respectively.

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