TV One’s first-ever “Unsung” feature film, “Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” broke record ratings on its premiere night (Sunday, June 12), the network announced this morning, delivering the #1 Original Movie in network history.
The biopic, directed by Christine Swanson, stars Teyonah Parris in the title role as Grammy Award-nominated R&B songstress Miki Howard. It ranked as the #1 Ad-Supported Cable Telecast among all key black demos with a combined reach of 2 million total unique viewers 2+ for the night. It was also the #1 most tweeted live or new telecast on ad-supported cable entertainment. Furthermore, the movie’s premiere drove TV One to rank as the #1 rated Ad-Supported Cable Network among Total W25-54 (Women 25-54) and W18-49 (Women 18-49).
“Earlier this year, we promised to REPRESENT the best in Black culture and entertainment by elevating new voices and defying expectations,” said Brad Siegel, TV One’s President. “The record-breaking success of ‘Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story,’ our first-ever “Unsung” feature film, reflects this commitment. Through brave storytelling, we delivered what our audience craves and deserves.”
The premiere of “Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story,” along with strong original programming blocks (Monday True Crime, Tuesday “Rickey Smiley For Real,” Wednesday “Unsung ‘Next'” and Thursday Weeknight) throughout the week of June 6-12, capped off TV One’s Most Watched Week of All Time.
“Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” candidly explores the complicated history of Howard’s romantic relationship with R&B singer Gerald Levert, the tumultuous relationship with her mother, and her battles to overcome spousal abuse and drug addiction. Viewers can catch TV One’s encore presentations on Wednesday, June 15 at 9 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 18 at 10 p.m. ET and Sunday, June 19 at 6 p.m. ET.
“Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” which was scripted by Christine Swanson and Rhonda F. Baraka, features an ensemble cast opposite Parris, including Darius McCrary as Gerald Levert; Vanessa Bell Calloway as Miki’s mother Josephine Howard; Gary Dourdan as Augie Johnson; LisaRaye McCoy as Sylvia Rhone; and Amari Cheatom as Eddie Phelps.
“Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” is produced by Eric Tomosunas and Carl Craig for Swirl Films. For TV One, Jubba Seyyid is Executive in Charge of Production and Sr. Director of Programming; Donyell McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting; Robyn Greene-Arrington is VP of Original Programming; and D’Angela Proctor is Head of Original Programming.
“Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” was filmed on location in Savannah, Georgia.
“Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story” sneak peak from Tambay A Obenson on Vimeo.
