Movies based on true crime stories are nothing new. People are often fascinated by crimes that are splashed across headlines. But back in the early ‘90s, who would have guessed that one story would grip the country so tightly that all three networks fought to bring their own version to life at the same time? That’s exactly what happened in 1992, when the Long Island Lolita story dominated the news cycle and became a national obsession. 

The Story 

In 1992, seventeen-year-old Amy Fisher pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated assault after shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of Joey Buttafuoco, with whom Fisher claimed she was having an affair. Mary Jo survived the attack, and the world watched as the media dove headfirst into what would turn into one of the nation’s biggest tabloid stories. 

The Movies 

With a case this big, naturally all three major networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – wanted the rights to tell the story. Usually, one wins out. However, something strange happened. With a nation still intrigued, all three major networks decided to produce their own version of the story.

NBC was first with Amy Fisher: My Story, which starred Noelle Parker and focused on Fisher’s version of events. Then, in an even more bizarre twist, both CBS and ABC aired their wildly different movies a few months later, both on the same night. CBS’s Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story starred Alyssa Milano (Who’s the Boss?) as Fisher and told the story from Joey Buttafuoco’s perspective. ABC’s The Amy Fisher Story cast Drew Barrymore in the lead, and went a completely different route by focusing on the media’s obsession with the case. Of the three, ABC’s version was the ratings winner. 

Mary Jo’s Side

For years, one important perspective was largely absent from these dramatizations: Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s. That finally changed in 2026, when Lifetime released I Am Mary Jo Buttafuoco, telling the story through her eyes and offering a fresh perspective on one of the most sensational true-crime stories of the 1990s.

The Long Island Lolita movies represent more than a curious footnote in television history. They capture a brief moment when true crime, tabloid television, and network competition collided in spectacular fashion. For a few extraordinary months, three different networks believed the same story could bring ratings gold, and each told it in a completely different way. It’s a reminder of just how important the made-for-TV movie once was, and how fiercely networks competed to create the next television event.