TV One Announces New Scripted Shows And Movies Including DeBarge Biopic
Apr 14, 2016 By
Tonya Pendleton
All This Love: The Debarge Family Story
The world-famous DeBarge siblings sought to escape a life of abuse and rejection to become one of the most successful families in R&B music, second only to the Jacksons. From Switch and DeBarge to solo acts, the DeBarges enjoyed fame, wealth and gold-record status, but behind the scenes, the siblings were haunted by the ghosts of their past and deeply scarred by years of emotional and physical abuse. They inevitably fell prey to promiscuity, violence and drug addiction, sending their careers into a downward spiral from which they never fully recovered. All This Love will be the second installment of the Unsung Film Series.
If you remember the dramatic story of the
DeBarge singing family from their
Unsung episode, it should be no surprise that the network has decided to produce a DeBarge biopic. That’s just one of the scripted TV movies and shows that the network announced at this week’s upfront presentation, where TV networks announce their plans for the next TV season. TV One also announced that they will be running Empire episodes, which will start airing this summer after the season finale on Fox.
“We are ecstatic to partner with 20th Television and Imagine in showcasing one of the biggest hits in television history,” said Siegel. “
Empire dominates the media landscape with a first-rate cast, original music content, engaging plots and celebrity guests. TV One is proud to be the exclusive cable network home for the series as it represents our brand promise to defy expectations.”
Overall, TV One is offering premieres of 26 original movies and the network’s first ever scripted drama.
“By expanding our programming genres and archetypes that represent the black community, we offer advertisers the opportunity to be seen in an environment that is both positive and unique,” said TV One president Brad Siegel. “Furthermore, with a 26-movie slate and our plan to air an original movie each week for 14 straight weeks during summer 2017, TV One provides both tent pole programming and continuity.”
“We’ve generated a sizable audience for our movies and we hope to build upon that same audience through our very first foray into a scripted drama,” said D’Angela Proctor, TV One’s SVP, Original Programming and Production. “As a general entertainment network, entering into the scripted drama space is a logical and necessary next step for TV One.”