Many who watched Lifestyle’s Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, were outraged at what they felt was an inadequate representation of the platinum-selling star’s life and legacy. However, the Wendy Williams-produced TV film pulled 3.2 million viewers during its premier and was the No. 2 cable network film of 2014. As the network prepares to try again with the story of Whitney Houston, set to debut in 2015, here’s a breakdown of six other memorable made-for-TV movies viewers can’t stop talking about.
Crazy Sexy Cool (VH1, 2014)
According to Entertainment weekly, the VH1 original movie CrazySexyCool:The TLC Story, attracted 4.5 million total viewers on the first night and a 2.9 rating among adults 18-49, ranking as VH1’s strongest performing original movie to date.
The Temptations (NBC, 1998)
According to Nielsen ratings, 45 million people watched “The Temptations,” a two-night, four-hour miniseries about the Motown singing group. The Emmy award-winning series later went on to become one of the highest rated television shows of the year. The documentary featured a behind the scenes look into the childhood friendships destroyed by fame, a killer soundtrack and classic dance moves.
The Jacksons: An American Dream (ABC, 1992)
The Jacksons – An american dream trailer
This film was a five-hour epic movie made with the blessing of the Jackson family and produced by Motown power woman Suzanne de Passe. It featured the Jackson family’s rise to musical mega-stardom in the late ’60s through the Motown reunion tour and Michael Jackson’s Thriller release in 1982. The star-studded cast included Angela Bassett, Terence Howard and Vanessa Williams.
An American Dream became one of the most popular and successful music-biography miniseries of the 1990s. Overall, the miniseries was watched by 38.4 million viewers. Â The two-night average for the Jacksons (22.2/33) was the highest for any two-parter since an NBC movie in 1989 called “I Know My Name Is Steven.”
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (HBO, 1999)
Halle Berry starred as Dorothy Dandridge, the first black actress to earn a Best Actress nomination for an Oscar in 1954. The film chronicled her life from a nightclub singer to her career as an actress and death at 42, a tragedy in which the cause was debated whether it was suicide or accidental. Berry received both an Emmy and Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge.
The Gabby Douglas Story (Lifetime TV, 2014)
Lifetime‘s biopic on
Olympic gold medalist, Gabby Douglas, scored 3.8 million viewers. Douglas became the first African American to be named individual all-around champion in artistic gymnastics at the Olympics. According to Nielsen, The Gabby Douglas Story, was the most tweeted program of the night across all of television, excluding sports.Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story (VH1, 2001)
The Life Story of rapper M.C. Hammer, born Stanley Burrell, features the rise and fall of the biggest-selling recording artist in rap history , whose personal wealth was once estimated at 30 million.