Known for its thrillers and chillers, Lifetime announced today its upcoming new original movie, Safe Space, currently in production and scheduled to premiere in 2022. The suspense-filled new movie marks Boris Kodjoe's directorial debut and stars his real-life spouse Nicole Ari Parker (Chicago P.D., Empire) as well as Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Nik Sanchez (The Rookie) and Mackenzie Astin (The Magicians).

Safe Space centers on recently widowed Lila Jackson (Ari Parker) and her 14-year-old autistic son Ian (Sanchez). Since the death of her husband, Lila is grateful for their kind neighbor Neil Hargrove (Kodjoe), who looks out for them. After Ian accidentally witnesses a break-in in the house across the street and records the horrific murder of the homeowner, Lila becomes embroiled in a deadly struggle to protect her son from intruders Dominic (Astin) and Rocco (De Matteo), who will stop at nothing to retrieve the video evidence of the crime and silence them. Hiding and trapped in a makeshift panic room created by her late husband, Lila and Ian must use all of their strength and intelligence to outsmart the intruders to save themselves.

Additional cast members include Monica Calhoun who appears as Officer Armani and Julito McCullum as a repairman.

Lifetime has worked with the organization RespectAbility in review of the script to ensure as much authenticity as possible in the portrayal of Ian. The role of Ian is played by Nik Sanchez who is on the autism spectrum. As part of Lifetime’s advocacy efforts, resources to learn more about autism will be provided at the end of the film.

Safe Space is produced by Astute Films for Lifetime. Executive producers include Dominique Telson and Karen Kaufman Wilson. Boris Kodjoe directs from a script by Nneka Gerstle.