Cable networks believe in the power of music — or at least in the power of music stars to inspire compelling original films and miniseries based on their real-life stories.

BET, Lifetime and TV One will add to a growing list of made-for-cable movies depicting the lives of current and past pop-music icons.

And TV audiences are applauding these telefilms. For instance, Lifetime’s Jan. 23 original movie Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart, a biography of the popular R&B singer, drew 3.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

It was the most-watched original cable movie among adults 25-54 and women 18-49 since another Lifetime music biopic — Whitney, about the late superstar Whitney Houston — in January of 2015, Nielsen reported.

And female-targeted Lifetime said it will strike up the band again with a film based on the life of R&B singer Michel’le, who was discovered in the 1990s by members of rap group N.W.A.

Looks at musical lives aren’t new for cable networks. Documentary series, led by VH1’s iconic Behind the Music and continuing with current shows such as TV One’s Unsung, have offered a nonfiction look at popular hitmakers both past and present. Dramatizing these familiar stories in a two-hour, scripted format creates more viewer interest and appeal, network executives said.

“People like to know that the drama they’re seeing has some basis in the truth,” BET president of programming Stephen Hill said. “For viewers, it presents an accurate representation of a story, but from another point of view.”

Lifetime’s ratings success with music-themed movies follows HBO’s 2015 docufilm Bessie, which received critical acclaim for its portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith. The movie took home four Emmy Awards this past September, including one for best television movie, and garnered Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, Emmy and SAG awards nods for its lead actress, Queen Latifah.

BET this fall will highlight the career of 1980s R&B group New Edition in a three-part miniseries. Music is already part of the network’s DNA through major tentpole events such as the BET Awards and the Soul Train Music Awards, so New Edition: The Movie fits BET’s brand and appeals to its target African-American viewers, according to president and CEO Debra Lee.

TV One in June will premiere its first biopic, focusing on the life of R&B singer Miki Howard. It’s one of 26 original movies scheduled to air this year, according to network senior vice president of original programming D’Angela Proctor.

Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story will follow the popular singer’s rise from homeless teen-ager to R&B royalty.

TV One is also developing All This Love: The DeBarge Family Story, based on the career of R&B musical group DeBarge, and Ella & Marilyn, about the mostly unknown and unexpected friendship between legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and actress Marilyn Monroe.

Proctor said the music-themed bio films are an extension of Unsung, which chronicles the careers of R&B singers and groups. The movies will give TV One another entry point into the popular music genre, she added.

Hoops-Fueled TBS Tops April

TBS finished the month of April as the most watched network in primetime, bolstered by its coverage of the NCAA Final Four, which secured four slots among the top 10 most-watched shows during the month. AMC’s The Walking Dead continued its rampage, though, holding on to No. 1.

Date                   Show                                                            Network            Total Viewers

4/3     The Walking Dead                                                          AMC                   19.3 million

4/4     NCAA Championship: Villanova-North Carolina   TBS                   14.0 million

4/2     NCAA Final Four: North Carolina-Syracuse           TBS                   10.2 million

4/10   Fear the Walking Dead                                                 AMC                    9.4 million

4/2     Final Four Studio Show                                                TBS                     8.5 million

4/2     NCAA Final Four: Villanova-Oklahoma                   TBS                     8.3 million

4/24   Game of Thrones                                                          HBO                   7.9 million

4/17   Fear the Walking Dead                                                AMC                  7.7 million

4/3     Talking Dead                                                                 AMC                  7.6 million

4/5    The People v. O.J. Simpson                                          FX                    6.7 million

3/29   The People v. O.J Simpson                                         FX                     6.7 million

SOURCE : Nielsen. Ratings period: 3/28-4/24. Viewing Type: Live-plus-7-day blended with live-plus-3-day from 4/11-4/21 and live-plus-same day from 4/22 to 4/24.

Lifetime viewers couldn’t get enough of iconic performer Whitney Houston Saturday night. 

The female-targeted network’s original movie Whitney drew 4.5 million viewers, part of a prime-time block of Whitney Houston-themed programming that garnered a combined 11.8 million viewers.

The original movie, directed by Angela Bassett and starring Yaya DaCosta, was the network’s most-watched telecast across all key demographics since Flowers In The Attic last January, said the network. The movie, which chronicled the relationship betewen the late Houston and singer/writer Bobby Brown, also averaged 2.2 million Adults 25-54, 2.1 million Adults 18-49, 1.6 million Women 18-49 and 1.6 million Women 25-54.

Following the movie, the network’s Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney special delivered 4.1 million viewers, as well as 1.9 million Adults 25-54, 1.8 million Adults 18-49, 1.4 million Women 18-49 and 1.4 million Women 25-54, according to the network.

At 11:00pm, the special Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances brought in an additional 3.2 million total viewers, said Lifetime.

Tonight Lifetime will encore the entire Whitney Houston-themed block beginning at 8 p.m. with the movie Whitney.

Lifetime this Saturday will air a special featuring singer/songwriter Bobby Brown immediately after the premiere of its original movie Whitney.

The special, Bobby Brown: Remembering Whitney will feature an interview between Access Hollywood correspondent Shaun Robinson and Houston's ex-husband Brown about his marriage to the late entertainer, the network said.

The special will air at 10 p.m., immediately following Lifetime’s original movie Whitney, which chronicles Houston and Brown’s relationship. Yaya DaCosta, (Lee Daniels’ The Butler) and Arlen Escarpeta (Final Destination 5) star in the movie, directed by Angela Bassett.