Lifetime’s Romeo Killer Premiere Delayed Due to Legal Reasons, Then Given The Go Ahead

Romeo Killer: The Christopher Porco Story was supposed to air this weekend on Lifetime, but due to an intervention from Porco himself, the TV movie was in danger of being delayed.

Porco said that Lifetime needed permission to use his name, this being a show that fictionalizes his murders. And, by virtue of the fact he’s making a fuss, we’re assuming it’s very much a permission not granted situation. New York state Supreme Court Judge Robert Muller sided with Porco, and ruled that the show be delayed until a late April court date can resolve the situation. "It's a sad day when a convicted murderer who has exhausted all of his appeals can convince any court to stop people from exercising their First Amendment right to talk about his crime," Lifetime spokesman Les Eisner said. Eisner got his way though, and an emergency appeal on Thursday saw permission for Romeo Killer - starring Eric Mccormack - to air Saturday and Sunday.

Eric McCormack smiles, sort of

Lifetime’s argument went thusly: if viewers tuned in to see the movie and it wasn't on, they would view the network "as unreliable and not trustworthy, which will have long-term negative effects on Lifetime's 'brand' and reputation, and may ultimately lead to declines in its ratings." The real story is that they splurged $2 million acquiring rights to tell the Porco story and nearly $1 million promoting the show. That’s the real quiz.