Gigi Gustin on Lifetime's 'Killer Advice' and Her Reality TV Roots (EXCLUSIVE)

Lifetime is constantly churning out original programming year-round, and once the Christmas season is over, there's nothing the network does better than thrillers.

The channel's newest release is Killer Advice, and it features Lifetime movie favorites Eric Roberts, Kate Watson, and Meredith Thomas. 

The film centers around Beth (Kate), who seeks a therapist after a traumatizing incident. While she's looking for advice and ways to cope, her therapist, Marsha (Meredith Thomas), oversteps boundaries. Things might get deadly.

Though most of the cast members are Lifetime veterans, there's one network newcomer who is making a splash as Beth's daughter, Jess. 

Gigi Gustin plays the high-schooler who must put her drama with her mom aside when she learns what's going on with the therapist.

The actress spoke exclusively with Distractify about what viewers can expect from the thriller. She also dished on how she made her acting dreams come true after winning a competition reality series.

Much of the film's plot remains a mystery (Lifetime never even released an official trailer for Killer Advice), but Gigi did tease what her character, Jess, goes through in order to help save her mom from the nefarious therapist, Marsha.

"The film is going to be great for anyone who loves a good thriller," the New Jersey native told us. But, it's also a family drama of sorts.

"There's scenes of family members overcoming things, and there are obstacles with them coming together. Ultimately, there's a wedge between the lead character and her daughter, Jess, who I play. Another character comes in and causes the wedge to go further and further, until it gets so far that there's a crazy showdown."

While Jess figures out the truth about Marsha before many of the other characters, she has a rough history with her family.

"My character is struggling to prove herself and find redemption and approval through her mother. She made a bad mistake prior to the film. She did something that made her mom and her family lose trust in her," Gigi shared. "She's trying to become a better person, but that mistake is still driving her away from Beth."

While Gigi referred to joining the Lifetime world as a dream, it all came together rather quickly. She had just finished shooting another film in Las Vegas when she found out that she had gotten the part, and she flew to Los Angeles shortly thereafter. 

Within a day of her LA arrival, Gigi was on set, and she was shooting a key scene with Meredith Thomas, who plays Marsha. 

Though she was slightly intimidated to break the ice with the Lifetime staple, who is the villain of the movie, she ended up loving their scene together.

"The first scene that I filmed was with Meredith, and I think that scene is going to end up being one of my favorites in the movie. She's an incredible actress, so they threw me into the ocean right away by starting with that scene," Gigi joked. "Then I got my feet wet and I was good to go for the rest of the movie."

Gigi couldn't say much about what exactly goes down in the scene. Considering Marsha's role as a meddling therapist, viewers can expect that it's going to be big. 

"That scene is definitely what causes more issues between Jess and her mother. It plants the seed that is going to be a bomb that blows up, and it's really, really important," she teased.

While many viewers will be first introduced to Gigi on Killer Advice, some may recognize her as the winner of Season 2 of the Fox competition series American Grit. 

Though Gigi walked away from the John Cena series in 2017 with $250,000, she shared that it wasn't easy to prove herself as an actress afterward.

"American Grit was never really a career move. I never wanted to be a reality star. I was at a very low point in my life, living in my car, and the casting came through my website. Just for fun, I submitted to it, not thinking anything of it. They called me, and a few interviews later, I was on the show in Georgia at Camp Grit with no idea what to expect," she said. "I had never really watched reality TV before, and I had no idea what I was getting into."

The prize money allowed her to feel comfortable moving to Los Angeles, and to pursue acting full-time.

"I won the entire show, cashed out, and bounced to Los Angeles and kept going," Gigi added.

Though people associated her with reality TV afterward, she dyed her hair blonde, switched up her look, and networked until she was given a chance. 

She hasn't looked back since and now, that includes a major role in a Lifetime movie.

Killer Advice debuts on Friday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.