A biography series on the life and career of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, debuting this fall on National Geographic will build on other networks’ successes with scripted movies and limited series profiling African-American musical artists.

From Lifetime’s April biopic The Clark Sisters, chronicling the award-winning gospel group, to BET’s series American Soul, about Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius, networks have drummed up big ratings for scripted programming content showcasing African-American performers.

“Music docupics are a real equalizer,” Lifetime executive VP of movies, limited series and original movie acquisitions Tanya Lopez said. “Music resonates on all levels to all cultures, so you really get a peek into how the music came to be.”

Lifetime has hit the right notes with a series of biopics tailored to its female-targeted audience. Its April 11 movie The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel averaged 2.7 million viewers, making it the network’s most-watched original movie of the year so far. It was Lifetime’s biggest audience for an original movie since 2016, when Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, about the popular R&B singer, drew 3.6 million viewers.

“We’re super-serving an underserved audience,” Lopez said. “I don’t think the audience for these movies is strictly African-American, but that’s a huge component of its success, because these artists are known and revered in the African-American community but may not have the same exposure outside of it.”

TV One VP of original programming and production Robyn Greene Arrington said movies such as The Bobby DeBarge Story also offer content that features lead African-American actors and actresses playing artists that have created iconic and identifiable music that resonates with the African-American community. The 2019 film about the lead singer of 1970s funk and R&B band Switch was TV One’s most-watched original movie that year, averaging 1.2 million viewers.

“Black people have a certain affinity to music, and those artists are part of our life,” Arrington said. “Music is the soundtrack of the important events in our lives, so we almost see those people intimately in our world, even more so than an actor or an actress.”

The beat goes on for the genre as several new movies and series are in development. Along with Nat Geo’s Genius: Aretha — starring Harriet actress Cynthia Erivo, it was moved to the fall from May after the pandemic shut down production — Lifetime in 2021 will air a bio movie focusing on 1980s R&B rap group Salt-N-Pepa, according to Lopez.

On the series front, BET is in development on Uptown, a three-part miniseries about the 1986 R&B/rap record label founded by Andre Harrell. Uptown follows the network’s sophomore series American Soul.

“These biopics take a character that you may know and make them relatable in terms of their struggles and journeys,” BET executive VP of specials, music programming and music strategy Connie Orlando said. “The world is finally catching onto what we always knew, and that is that our stories are not only important but have mainstream appeal.” 

Viewers and industry observers will watch closely tomorrow's (May 27) much- anticipated launch of new streaming service HBO Max, which will offer more than 100,000 hours of programming from the Warner Media library. 

New HBO Max series set to debut on May 27 include Love Life, a scripted romantic comedy-themed series that will follow one character looking for love (pictured); The Not Too Late Show With Elmo, a family-friendly talk show featuring Sesame Street character Elmo; and On The Record, a documentary that chronicles women who have accused hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons of sexual assault.

Series returning to television include the May 27 premiere of BET’s sophomore drama American Soul, which follows the life of Soul Train founder Don Cornelius, and the May 29 season two debut of Ramy, Hulu’s Golden Globe-winning comedy starring Ramy Youssef.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several other shows debuting the week of May 26  to May 31 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

May 28 -- Confessional (movie) -- Shudder

May 29 -- Central Park (animation) -- Apple TV+

May 29 -- Space Force (comedy) -- Netflix

May 29 -- The Vast of Night (sci-fi) -- Prime Video

May 31 -- Quiz (miniseries) -- AMC

BET Networks has renewed its freshman series Boomerang and American Soul, the company said Tuesday.

The Lena Waithe and Halle Berry-produced series Boomerang -- an updated version of the 1990s film of the same name --will return for a second season, said the network. The show’s first season will conclude April 9.

American Soul, based on the rise of the iconic music and dance program Soul Train, stars Sinqua Walls (Power, The Breaks), Kelly Price (Grammy-nominated singer), Jason Dirden (Greenleaf) and Iantha Richardson (This Is Us). The season finale of the series airs tonight (April 2).

“BET Networks is thrilled to partner once again with the creative visionary Lena Waithe on Boomerang as she is without a doubt a leading relevant voice of our generation and a disruptor in her own right,” said Connie Orlando, Head of Programming for BET Networks in a statement. “BET Networks is invested in showcasing black excellence in our programming and we look forward to digging even deeper into the incredible legacy of Don Cornelius and Soul Train in season two." 

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