NEW YORK (AP) — Few TV documentary series can boast having a more powerful real world impact than “Surviving R. Kelly.”
Though allegations of sexual abuse against minors followed R&B superstar R. Kellyfor years, it was a six-part series aired by Lifetime last January featuring testimonials by alleged survivors that sparked new attention from authorities.
A year later, Lifetime is readying a follow-up series, ” Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning, ” with one major difference: this time, R. Kelly will be behind bars when it airs.
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Brie Miranda Bryant, senior vice president of unscripted development at Lifetime, said the new series takes a wider and deeper look at some of the issues the first one raised. The first had 54 interviews; the follow-up has almost 70.
“It’s not really about R. Kelly. It’s about sexual violence against women in general and how we change that dialogue,” she said.
“Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning” will premiere Thursday on Lifetime. The six-hour series will run for two hours a night for three consecutive nights, concluding Saturday.
The new series includes interviews with two alleged survivors who haven’t spoken out publicly before and includes Tiffany Hawkins, the first alleged survivor who filed sexual charges. Other new voices include music executive Damon Dash, Beyoncé’s father Mathew Knowles, lawyer Gloria Allred and Illinois prosecutor Kimberly M. Foxx.
Source: Lifetime Follow-Up R. Kelly Doc Focuses On Victims Of Sexual Assault
