Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Grieving mom investigates teen daughter's death; violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
To Catch a Cheater
What's the Story?
In TO CATCH A CHEATER, Hannah (Jordan Kennedy) is a sensitive high school senior who has grown apart from her two oldest and closest friends, Megan and Charli. Hannah is quiet and contemplative and since her parents' recent divorce, she's just trying to manage her emotions, keep her head down, study, and hang out with her nice boyfriend Hunter (Luke Omalza). Charli (Valentina Rivas) comes up with a mean-spirited prank to test the girls' boyfriends' loyalty. They invite their respective guys—Hunter, Nick and Joe—on a date but each girl meets the other's boyfriend with the intent to flirt. The boy who responds to the flirting is a "cheater." Hannah is reluctant, but is pressured to play along. She never returns from the date and is later found dead. When the police deem the death "accidental," her divorced parents Monica (Kate Watson) and David (Philip Boyd) unite to find out what really happened.
Is It Any Good?
This is a bland depiction of a generic narrative common on the Lifetime Channel. While its themes are universal—loss, grief, mystery—the material is so ho-hum as written that the actors themselves seem bored trudging their way through the action. Everything feels off. The police bring a parent to the actual scene of her daughter's murder to ID the body only hours after the death, highly unusual in police work given the need to maintain a pristine crime scene for the sake of forensics. In an unintentionally comical sequence, a woman reacts to the mere knock at her door as if she knew a serial killer was on the other side. Her brow furrows as music of doom follows her exaggeratedly slow approach to the door. No one's there, just a threatening note on the doormat. The ending is disappointing, forced, and utterly implausible.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the idea of entrapping teenage boys into "cheating" on their girlfriends. What do you think of the person who came up with this plan for her own amusement?
People keep telling Monica that she needs to get over the death of her teen daughter. How would you feel if someone told you that your grief was tiresome and inappropriate?
Who do you think is most at fault here: the teens who played the game or the parents who kept secrets and wanted to keep up appearances? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : February 15, 2026
- Cast : Kate Watson , Philip Boyd , Sheila Leason
- Director : Damián Romay
- Studios : Netflix , Lifetime
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School )
- Run time : 87 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 25, 2026
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