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While multicultural cable TV series have been getting all the press recently, made-for-TV movies with people of color both in front of and behind the camera are very quietly receiving major play on a number of cable networks and streaming services.

Recent multicultural-themed original cable movies have drawn both critical acclaim and large audiences. HBO’s Bessie, starring Queen Latifah as blues artist Bessie Smith, drew 13 Emmy nominations this past July — the most for any made-for-cable movie.

Lifetime’s Whitney, which chronicled the life of the iconic performer Whitney Houston, drew 5.1 million viewers this past January, the biggest audience for an original cable movie this year other than those on kids-targeted Disney Channel.

Lifetime has produced several original films in the last three years featuring predominantly African-American actors and actresses, in an effort to reach African-American women, who represent 36% of the network’s movie audience.

Lifetime senior vice president of original movies Tanya Lopez said movies such as Whitney — as well as Trip to Bountiful, based on the popular play of the same name and starring Cicely Tyson, and an African-American version of 1989’s Steel Magnolias — super-serve that already strong base.

As many as three multicultural-themed movies are being developed for Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network, she added, though she would not reveal specifics.

TV One, responding to viewer requests for more storytelling, is airing a monthly movie series. D’Angela Proctor, the network’s head of original programing, said original movies allows TV One to develop stories around universal themes that appeal to a wider swath of viewers than a more tightly-focused scripted series.

Original movies, such as the network’s upcoming Runaway Island and Girlfriends Getaway 2, also provide the network with content that has a long shelf life and can work well on various platforms, she added.

UP, formerly Gospel Music Channel, has consistently delivered movies featuring people of color in prominent roles as it looks to broaden its audience base. It recently teamed with actor-producer Robert Townsend on a July basketball-themed film, Playin’ for Love (see Q&A with Townsend), and is developing several movies, including three holiday films with diverse casts: My Christmas Wish, Angels in the Snow and Marry US for Christmas, Barbara Fisher, senior vice president of original programming for UP network, said.

Networks have also used original movies as pilots for potential scripted series. BET’s 2013 airing of original drama Being Mary Jane was so successful that the network turned the Gabrielle Union starrer into a scripted series, with its third season now in production.

“These long leads not only provide great content for us, but also give us an indication of whether this is something we can take further and make into a series,” BET president of programming Stephen Hill said.

Added UP’s Fisher: “There’s not enough people pitching me series with diverse casts or diverse leads, so it’s a great way for me to go back to our movies, which already have that, and use them as possibilities for expanding into series.”

Over a career that has spanned more than three decades, actor, filmmaker and director Robert Townsend has been at the forefront of producing popular film and television content featuring multicultural actors and themes. Townsend, who most recently completed the family film Playin’ for Love for cable network UP, talked with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about the evolving entertainment marketplace and the increasing opportunities content producers have to distribute their content across both traditional media and the emerging digital space. Townsend, best-known for such theatrical movies as Hollywood Shuffle and The Five Heartbeats, as well as television comedy series The Parent’Hood, also talked about the explosion of programming featuring people of color both in front of and behind the camera. An edited transcript follows.

MCN:As a producer, is this a golden age of sorts, given the multitude of outlets and distribution platforms to showcase your content?

Robert Townsend: It’s a really exciting time — it’s just trying to figure it out, because pieces move so quickly. All of this technology is developing so quickly — now you have Periscope, video streaming and VOD — so part of the game now is learning. Once you have the content, everybody is trying to figure out how to monetize it. So there are maybe new distribution platforms, but it’s also about understanding how to best use it. There has never before in history been a time when you could reach your target audience yourself. I think everybody is trying to figure it out and we’re all in a learning curve right now.

MCN:Having said that, have you explored these other platforms for your film and TV content?

RT: Here’s the thing: I’m in it totally. I’ve played a little with the Web and I’ve never been afraid to explore. I explored the Web when it was developing when I was doing content for the Black Family Channel, so I’ve always been an explorer and I’m always looking at what’s next. I get the traditional system — I just did a film with UP on cable and my next studio film will be a remake of Brewster’s Millions — and I will always have one foot in dealing with the studios and the traditional media. But I will always look ahead. It’s really an exciting time because there are so many outlets doing content — again, as always, it’s trying to find the right fit for my content.

MCN:Do you see yourself continuing to work within the traditional TV arena going forward?

RT: My film with the UP channel is the first project we’re doing together, but we’ve been talking about doing other things. I have different ideas — some are family-friendly and some are more edgy — but we’re looking at other opportunities, including a series.

MCN:Your films typically fall into the family-entertainment genre. Given the recent popularity of edgier, more adult-themed dramas on television and in film, is there still a viable audience for family-friendly programming?

RT: It’s a funny time now, because we have some films that are family, but you don’t have a lot. I see today the kids are looking for content that’s much edgier, so I think when you try to pull it back some and allow these kids be kids for as long as possible, they don’t really have a lot of outlets that encourage that. So, on one hand, you have a lot of these edgy reality shows, but then for kids, you have to find those other vehicles that provide more uplifting content.

MCN:In the past year, there has been a flurry of successful television shows featuring predominantly multicultural casts. Do you see that trend continuing, particularly as more content distributors look for new and unique original programming?

RT: Everything comes in cycles, and right now we’re at an upswing where you have the different networks producing content like Empire and Black-ish. When I think about Shonda Rhimes, I think of an amazing, visionary artist who’s now able to do her own thing — she’s one of the most prolific showrunners in history and she happens to be a woman of color. I’ve been in the game for a long time, so for me this time is what I’ve always been talking about in terms of people of color really breaking through, so it’s an exciting time.