Lifetime releases photos of cast for Chris Watts' family murder movie

Sean Kleier and Ashley Williams star in Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer. Photo / Lifetime

Lifetime has released chilling photos of the cast members who are featuring in a film about the Chris Watts' family murder case.

Earlier this year, the TV network announced it will be making a movie, Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer, which documents a father who murdered his pregnant wife, Shannan Watts, and their two children, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste.

The real Watts family.

The film, which is based on real-life events and taped confessions, will premiere on Lifetime on January 25, 2020.

The movie stars Sean Kleier (Odd Mom Out) as Chris, Ashley Williams (How I Met Your Mother), as Shanann and Brooke Smith (Bates Motel, Ray Donovan) as FBI agent Tammy Lee. Sony Pictures Television is producing the film for Lifetime.

Speaking about the film, Lifetime said: "When Chris Watts tearfully pleaded to television cameras for the safe return of his missing pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters, dark secrets loomed just beneath the surface.

"As the story spread, hearts went out to the distraught father and husband, who appeared to lead a charmed life.

Ashley Williams plays Shanann Wtts in the new Lifetime movie about the murder of the Watts family. Photo / Lifetime

Sean Kleier plays Chris Watts in the new movie. Chris Watts confessed to the murders of his family in November 2018. Photo / Lifetime

"But days later, after failing a lie detector test, Chris confessed to brutally murdering his family and slowly revealed the horrific details of their deaths. Friends and family were left reeling, looking for answers as his double life and secret affair came to light."

Following the film, Lifetime will air a companion documentary, Beyond the Headlines: The Watts Family Tragedy.

The special will include never-before-seen footage, including an extended polygraph and interrogation session between Lee and Watts and interviews with Shanann's close friends, Cassandra Rosenberg and Cindy DeRosset.

Viewers may know Sean Kleier from Odd Mom Out. Photo / Lifetime

Sean Kleier and Ashley Williams star in Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer. Photo / Lifetime

On August 13, 2018, Chris strangled his pregnant wife Shanann to death before wrapping her body in a blanket. The incident woke his daughters Bella, four, and Celeste, three who began to cry after seeing their mother's lifeless body.

He then dumped her body in the back of his truck, drove it to a remote oil work site and buried her in a shallow grave.

He would later suffocate Celeste with a blanket and dispose of her body in an oil tank.

Ashley Williams and Sean Kleier star as Shanann and Chris Watts in Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer. Photo / Lifetime

Brooke Smith plays FBI agent Tammy Lee. Photo / Lifetime

At the time of the murders, Chris was having an affair with a co-worker, Nichol Kessinger.

After eventually confessing to the murders, he pleaded guilty and is now serving five life sentences without parole.