Braxton Family Values is a reality television show that follows the lives of the Braxton sisters: Toni, Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar, as well as their mother, Evelyn. The show premiered on April 12, 2011, on WE tv and quickly amassed a dedicated following.
The fourth season of the show, which aired from August 14, 2014, until November 12, 2015, was the series’ most-watched season ever, with over 1.5 million total viewers. The family gained notoriety due to renowned R&B singer Toni Braxton, but the sisters all have a musical background, acting as backup singers for Toni before branching into careers of their own. The reality show ran for almost a decade before its seventh (and presumably) final season aired in 2020.
While the show was met with record-low ratings for the season 7 premiere, only clocking around 409,000 viewers, it doesn’t appear that audiences have completely lost interest. According to Parrot Analytics, viewer demand for Braxton Family Values is still very much prevalent. With weekly demand trending in the 94.3th percentile in the Reality genre, as of April 2022.
With viewers requesting more of the Braxton clan, there are still many lingering questions about the show’s fate. So much has happened in the past couple of years that has left fans concerned.
Here’s a brief timeline of events sequencing the show’s many ups and downs in recent years.
Tamar Braxton before season 7
Braxton Family Values almost came to a premature halt when one of the sisters, Tamar Braxton, attempted to take her own life in July 2020. Before season 7 premiered, news broke that the star had been found “unresponsive” by her boyfriend at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Los Angeles. Tamar was hospitalized after combining alcohol and sleeping pills.
In wake of the tragic news, the Braxton family grappled with whether or not they should continue with the show. Ultimately, the family decided to proceed with season 7 of the show, despite the vulnerable position it might put their sister in.
“I think that we would do our fans and the viewers a disservice if we didn’t talk about it,” Towanda Braxton told ET. “So when the producers and the family collectively got together and said, this is what we’re gonna do: We’re not gonna tell Tamar’s story, because it’s her story to tell. However, we can talk about how it affected us as a family and individually when we found out about it. How did we react? Those are real feelings, and I think that real families can respect the fact that we’re going to touch on it, but we’re not gonna tell her story.”
Tamar Braxton spoke out against WE tv, claiming mistreatment and exploitation
After her suicide attempt, Tamar aired her grievances with the network, claiming they mistreated her and exploited her mental illness for ratings. In July 2020, Tamar posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram account explaining what led up to her hospitalization and how WE tv took advantage of her when she was most vulnerable.
“Over the past 11 years there were promises made to protect and portray my story, with the authenticity and honesty I gave. I was betrayed, taken advantage of, overworked, and underpaid,” Tamar wrote in her statement.
WE tv was quick to respond to Tamar’s claims, issuing a statement to E! News announcing that they will no longer be working with Tamar.
“Tamar Braxton has been an important part of our network family for more than a decade,” the statement said. “As she focuses on her health and recovery at what is clearly a difficult and personal time, we will work with her representatives to honor her request to end all future work for the network. We wish her nothing but the best.”
Traci Braxton passed away in 2022
Traci Braxton passed away at the age of 50 in March 2022 from esophageal cancer. Traci’s death was confirmed by her older sister Toni, who posted a photo of the Braxton sisters with a touching message on Instagram writing that Traci had passed away that morning “as the snow was falling.”
“It is with the utmost regret that we inform you of the passing of our sister, Traci. Needless to say, she was a bright light, a wonderful daughter, an amazing sister, a loving mother, wife, grandmother and a respected performer,” Toni Braxton wrote. ” We will miss her dearly.”
Only two weeks after her passing, there were reports that the remaining Braxton sisters felt that Traci’s widower, Kevin Surratt, was “exploiting” their sister in death. Surratt allegedly had planned a viewing and a funeral service for Traci which her sisters claim was not what their sister wanted.
“Traci did not want a funeral or wake. She did not want people looking all over her body. She specifically requested to be immediately cremated… There was a Zoom meeting that made it clear about what she wanted, and now her husband is trying to cash in on her name,” a Braxton insider told Page Six.
According to Surratt, he honored his wife’s wishes and Traci had “explained everything to the funeral home” before she passed.
Towanda Braxton confirmed the show's cancelation in 2022
In February 2022, Towanda Braxton confirmed on her YouTube channel that the show had been canceled by WE tv. In a four-part series, titled The Truth Behind BFV, Towanda was joined by her finacé Sean Hall as they reflected on the show. At the end of the video, Towanda says she felt disappointed that the show had ended.
When asked by Hall how the show’s cancellation made her feel, Towanda said: “Really disappointed, because even though it only makes sense if it makes sense, we had so much more to share with the world.” She later continued by saying, “A Lot of things happened this past year, year and a half, that should have been documented and I’m pissed that it wasn’t.”
Season 8 of ‘Braxton Family Values’ may still be in the works.
While it’s been confirmed that Braxton Family Values was canceled by WE tv, is it possible that season 8 could be picked up by another network? Back in October 2021, Tamar Braxton mentioned during a live event that the series would be returning for the eighth season but “not with a foolish network” she said alluding to WE tv. Since then there has been no word on whether or not Braxton Family Values will ever actually return to TV. But if you’re one of the many viewers who miss the show, you can still watch reruns on WE TV‘s website. You can also rent/buy the full seven seasons on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and Google Play.
