Katie Douglas: 10 Best Movies & TV Shows

The best Katie Douglas movies and TV shows include roles in comedies and dramas and some interesting biopics that have helped elevate her to stardom. Douglas started acting when she was six in theater productions, and her career became so serious that she ended up completing her education with a tutor so she could continue acting while finishing school. She also started acting in movies and TV shows around the same age and soon became a leading lady.

She hit her earliest level of success when she starred in the series Spooksville, which got her awards recognition, and then moved on to several other TV shows in both lead and recurring roles. Douglas also starred in two critically acclaimed true-crime films as a young actor, both of which earned her more awards recognition before she moved on to some major television roles in the 2020s. Throughout her career, she has won seven awards for her acting and with her talent, more are sure to come her way.

10 Rising Expectations (2016)

Katie Douglas Played Connor Wayney

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In 2016, Katie Douglas starred in an ensemble sitcom with two of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s. Jason Priestley and Molly Ringwald play husband and wife Wayne and Paige Wayney, with Paige publishing a best-selling novel about raising multi-exceptional children. However, there is a problem. While they have four exceptional children (a musical prodigy, a star athlete, a global activist, and an analytical genius), their fifth child is a chronic underachiever who always falls short of expectations.

This role also started a nice career for Douglas, who picked up main roles in four more shows in the years following this sitcom.

Douglas plays the global activist Conner. The series ran for two seasons and 27 episodes on Family Channel. The kids in the show all received praise. Brenda Heard and Jake Sim both received award nominations, and the series won Best New Teen/Tween Series and Best New Series Tweens/Teens at the Kidscreen Awards. This role also started a nice career for Douglas, who picked up main roles in four more shows in the years following this sitcom.

9 Pretty Hard Cases (2021-2023)

Katie Douglas Played Jackie Sullivan

Katie Douglas smiling as Jackie Sullivan in Pretty Hard Cases

From 2021 to 2023, Katie Douglas had one of the main roles in the CBC Television series Pretty Hardy Cases. This show ran for three seasons and 32 episodes. The series follows a Guns and Gangs detective named Sam (Meredith MacNeill) and a Drug Squad detective named Kelly (Adrienne C. Moore) as they try to fight for the forces of good in a broken system.

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Douglas had been there since the series premiere as a character named Jackie Sullivan. Though in her early 20s, she played a teenager who got into a romantic relationship with Elliot (Percy Hynes White). While she was a main character through much of the first season, she only appeared in seven episodes in the final two seasons. The series picked up several award nominations throughout the years, including several for acting, directing, and writing.

8 Level 16 (2018)

Katie Douglas Played Vivien

Level 16 Movie Poster with Half of Katie Douglas' Face Pink and Blurred Level 16 0

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Level 16 is a dystopian thriller directed by Danishka Esterhazy. Set in a bleak, prison-like boarding school for girls, the film follows sixteen-year-old Vivien, portrayed by Katie Douglas, as she uncovers the dark secrets behind the institution’s facade. Trapped and conditioned to adhere to strict behavioral guidelines, Vivien and her classmates strive for survival while questioning the true purpose of their captivity.

Director Danishka Esterhazy Release Date February 20, 2018 Cast Katie Douglas , Celina Martin , Peter Outerbridge , Sara Canning Runtime 102 Minutes

Level 16 was Katie Douglas’s first lead role in a movie after appearing in a psychological thriller called Compulsion when she was 15. In this sci-fi film, Douglas plays Vivien, one of several girls attending a windowless boarding school run with military precision, teaching the girls how to be obedient and “clean” women so they can be adopted by members of high society. They are severely punished if they break any rules, no matter how minor.

Douglas is Vivien, the main character in the film, and she decides to escape when she learns that the school is about to sell her to an older couple. However, the truth is even more shocking and twisted than that, making for an intriguing twist that ups the stakes in the film. According to director Danishka Esterhazy, working with Douglas on the movie was a welcome surprise (via CloutCom).

“I didn’t know Katie Douglas or her work. She’s a young actor just emerging on the scene. But in her very first audition she had me spellbound. She has such range and talent. She would make unique yet perfect choices. Every day on set she would surprise me — in the very best way.”

7 Spooksville (2013-2014)

Katie Douglas Played Sally Wilcox

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Spooksville was the first TV show where Katie Douglas had a main role after a few years of one-shots and guest spots. In the series, she plays Sally Wilcox, a young girl trying to figure out the secrets of Spooksville and the reasons that so many strange things happen there. Spookesville was a Hub Network series that aired 22 episodes in one season in 2013. Keean Johnson stars as Adam Freeman, a new kid in town who learns how strange Spooksville really is with his new friends.

Spooksville
was a critical success and earned nine Young Artist Award nominations

The series is based on the popular children’s horror book series by Christopher Pike, who wrote 24 books from 1995 to 1998. The books center on a small group of friends who encounter everything from alien encounters to time travel, magic, and more. While only lasting one season, Spooksville was a critical success and earned nine Young Artist Award nominations, including Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actress for Katie Douglas.

6 Mary Kills People (2017-2019)

Katie Douglas Played Naomi Malik

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In between her main roles in Raising Expectations and Pretty Hard Cases, Katie Douglas starred in the Global television series Mary Kills People. The series stars Caroline Dhavernas as Mary Harris, a woman who works in the emergency department at a hospital but has a side business as an end-of-life counselor. Her partner, Des (Richard Short), provides assisted suicide. However, things get tough for them when the police start to investigate the two.

Katie Douglas played a main role in the series as Naomi Malik, a close friend of Jess, Mary’s teenage daughter (Abigail Winter). Critics praised the series, which lasted for three seasons and 18 episodes. The combined Rotten Tomatoes score is a perfect 100%, and the series earned nine Canadian Screen Award nominations, winning Best Direction, Drama Series, and Best Guest Performance, Drama Series (Steven McCarthy).

5 Defiance (2013-2015)

Katie Douglas Played Irzu

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When she was 13, Katie Douglas picked up a role in the underappreciated science fiction seriesDefiance. She played a recurring role as Irzu and appeared in 10 episodes. The show had aliens arrive on Earth planning to terraform it, but they did not realize the planet was already populated. This led to problems and a war, which left the aliens stranded on Earth and the planet contaminated and forever altered. Decades later, the humans and aliens live in a tense relationship when a new species emerges.

Katie Douglas stars as Irzu when she was a child, known at the time as Irisa.

The series had some familiar faces, including Julie Benz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Grant Bowler (Ugly Betty). In Defiance, Irzu is the god of fate and is responsible for the Irathient race. Katie Douglas stars as Irzu when she was a child, known at the time as Irisa. The series ran for three seasons and 39 episodes and received average reviews, with a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. The series picked up one Primetime Emmy Award nomination for its visual effects.

4 Believe Me: The Abduction Of Lisa McVey (2018)

Katie Douglas Played Lisa McVey

Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey

This entry contains mentions of sexual assault.

The first true crime biopic that Katie Douglas starred in was Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey. She starred as Lisa McVey, the victim in the story. The movie is based on the true abduction of 17-year-old McVey, who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted for 26 hours by serial killer Bobby Joe Long in 1984. The series shows her abduction and assault, and when she finally escapes, only one police officer believes her, while no one else takes her story seriously.

This image shows Marie Adler from Unbelievable, Marcia Clark from American Crime Story, and Berchtold from A Friend of the Family. Related 10 Best True Crime TV Shows, Ranked

True crime has always been a popular genre for TV shows and movies, but what are the best true crime shows that dramatize the source stories?

While most true crime stories have tragic endings (often at the start of the story), this one has a happy ending and an even better postscript on what happens to Lisa when all is said and done. The film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Movie and Best Writing in a Television Film (Christina Welsh). Douglas also picked up an ACTRA nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actress for her performance.

3 The Walk (2022)

Katie Douglas Played Kate Coughlin

Katie Douglas looking worried on a bed in The Walk

In 2022, Katie Douglas starred in the movie The Walk. The film stars Justin Chatwin as Boston police officer Bill Coughlin in 1974, who is asked to protect two Black students who are bussed to an all-white high school. He is also continuously pressured by a local crime boss (Terrence Howard) and there are two other people who are caught in the middle of violent protests in the streets. As for Katie Douglas, she stars as Kate, Officer Coughlin’s daughter, who faces her own racist attitude.

Douglas received some praise for her performance…

The movie earned lackluster reviews, with a 27% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience Popcornmeter score was much higher, at a 58% fresh rating. The cast was overall great, with Jeremy Piven, Malcolm McDowell, and Sally Kirkland. Douglas received some praise for her performance, winning the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival and the Award of Excellence at the IndieFEST Film Awards.

2 The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023)

Katie Douglas Played Kara Robinson

Tablet (10) The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story 0

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The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story is a tale of a brave young woman who was kidnapped, assaulted, and held captive for 18 hours. 15-year-old Robinson plots an escape from this serial killer’s apartment and led police to the apartment. After identifying her captor, police were able to solve at least three other unsolved homicides. You can watch The Girl Who Escaped by renting it for $1 on Prime Day. 

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A second Katie Douglas true crime biopic arrived in 2022 called The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story. Once again, Douglas played the title character, this time Kara Robinson Chamberlain, a 15-year-old kidnapped from the front of her friend’s house by serial killer Richard Evonitz. He took her at gunpoint and tortured her for 18 hours before she escaped from him and went on the run. Evonitz had already killed at least three girls and then finally died by suicide before the police could catch him.

Douglas once again received praise for her performance, this time winning the award for Best Lead Performer, TV Movie at the 2024 12th Canadian Screen Awards.

The series was almost identical to her own true crime biopic, Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey, as both cases had a teenage girl kidnapped, but showed the young woman was smart enough to gather clues to help the police when she finally escaped. Douglas once again received praise for her performance, this time winning the award for Best Lead Performer, TV Movie at the 2024 12th Canadian Screen Awards.

1 Ginny & Georgia (2021-)

Katie Douglas Played Abby

Ginny and Georgia 0

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ComedyDrama

Ginny and Georgia is a drama series that follows Angsty and awkward fifteen-year-old Ginny Miller, who often feels more mature than her thirty-year-old mother, the irresistible and dynamic Georgia Miller. After years on the run, Georgia desperately wants to put down roots in picturesque New England and give her family something they’ve never had… an everyday life. But it’s not all carpool and Kombucha as Georgia’s past threatens her and her family’s new way of life… and Georgia will do anything to protect her family.

Cast Felix Mallard , Brianne Howey , Mason Temple , Scott Porter , Jennifer Robertson , Raymond Ablack , Diesel La Torraca , Sara Waisglass , Antonia Gentry Release Date February 24, 2021 Seasons 2 Showrunner Sarah Lampert

This entry includes mentions of self-harm.

The biggest role of Katie Douglas’s career came in 2021 when she took on the role of Abby in Ginny & Georgia. This is a Netflix comedy-drama series about a 30-year-old mother (Georgia) who has gone on the run with her 15-year-old daughter (Ginny) to escape abuse. Georgia always gets her small family into trouble with her relationships, while Ginny has never lived anywhere long enough to make friends and self-harms through burning. The series was a success, with two seasons and two more coming.

Katie Douglas stars as Abby. She was a recurring character in the first season and was promoted to the main cast in season two. She is a friend of Max and Ginny and is part of their self-created group, MANG (Max-Abby-Norah-Ginny). Like Ginny, she struggles with depression issues. While only 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, it has been extremely popular, with over 381 million hours watched globally.