Tatum O'Neal, Jenna Dewan to star in telefilm

Lifetime has given the go-ahead to a movie about a group of Texas cheerleaders whose wild behavior made national headlines a couple years back.

Tatum O'Neal and Jenna Dewan will topline "Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal," which is scheduled for a summer premiere. Ashley Benson will also star.

"The real-life story of these cheerleaders shocked many when the story broke, not only for their racy and inappropriate behavior but also for the inaction of the school's administrators and parents," Tanya Lopez, who oversees Lifetime's movies, tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We hope this movie reminds parents how important it is to set limits on their children."

The movie centers on five high-school cheerleaders in a Dallas suburb (McKinney, Texas, was the site of the real-life story) -- one of whom (Benson, "Days of Our Lives") was the daughter of the school principal (O'Neal, "Rescue Me") -- who got away with flouting school regulations, drinking and other unsavory behavior while parents, school administrators and other authority figures looked the other way.

A new cheerleading coach (Dewan, "Step Up," "Take the Lead") tries to bring some discipline to the squad, only to be undermined and asked to resign. She then takes her story to the press, watching it become a national story (the likes of ABC News and Newsweek covered the scandal).

Telefilm veteran Tom McLoughlin ("The Staircase Murders," "Odd Girl Out") is directing "Fab Five," which was written by Teena Booth ("A Little Thing Called Murder"). Orly Adelson ("Ruffian," "D.C. Sniper") is executive producing.