TV ONE PREMIERES FIRST-EVER UNSUNG-INSPIRED BIO-PIC, "LOVE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: THE MIKI HOWARD STORY," SUNDAY, JUNE 12 AT 7 P.M. ET/6 P.M. CT
Teyonah Parris, Darius McCrary, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Gary Dourdan And LisaRaye McCoy Star in Network's Black Music Month Original Movie
SILVER SPRING, MD - MAY 17, 2016 - TV ONE announced today Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story will premiere on Sunday, June 12 at 7 p.m. ET (encore presentation at 9 p.m. ET). Starring Teyonah Parris (Chi-Raq, Survivor's Remorse) in the title role and featuring a special cameo appearance from Grammy Award-nominated R&B songstress Miki Howard herself, this is the network's first-ever bio-pic inspired by TV One's signature series Unsung.
As the crown jewel of TV One's Black Music Month celebration, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story features a star-studded ensemble cast opposite Parris, including Darius McCrary (The Leftovers, Family Matters) as Gerald Levert; Vanessa Bell Calloway (Shameless, To Hell and Back) as Miki's mother Josephine Howard; Gary Dourdan (CSI, Being Mary Jane) as Augie Johnson; LisaRaye McCoy (Single Ladies, All of Us) as Sylvia Rhone; and Amari Cheatom (Django Unchained, Night Catches Us) as Eddie Phelps.
"Black Music Month is the perfect time to share Miki Howard's inspiring and courageous journey of resilience with TV One's audience, said D'Angela Proctor, TV One's SVP, Original Programming & Production. "We are proud to have such an incredibly talented cast involved in Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story to help us represent with our first feature film from our award-winning Unsung series."
Before topping Billboard's R&B charts, Miki Howard was a homeless teenager estranged from her gospel singer mother and desperate for love, attention and success. 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.
Delivering a riveting performance, Parris found inspiration in playing the resilient R&B songstress. "I really wanted to be a part of this story because you watch someone go through so much," she stated. "Literally hit rock bottom not just once, a few times -- but pick themselves up and say 'that moment does not define who I am now and it won't define who I am in the future.'"
Howard is excited to have her story told as an original movie to encourage dialogue about important topics affecting women of color. "We need to have a conversation about many of the things that happened to me as a young woman coming up in show business and being an African-American woman," she shared. "I don't think we talk about enough things that are prevalent in our community, such as spousal abuse and trying to live up to expectations that are not our own."
Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story is produced by Eric Tomosunas and Carl Craig for Swirl Films. Christine Swanson serves as Director and the screenplay was written by Christine Swanson and Rhonda F. Baraka. 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.
For more information about TV One's Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story, visit the network's companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hash tag #MikiHowardStory and catch clips and promos on TV One's YouTube Channel.
ABOUT MIKI HOWARD
Miki Howard, an '80s & '90s R&B singer, represents passionate vocal artistry wrapped in a diminutive package of beauty, sass and candor. Grammy-nominated Howard already has a stunning catalog of music wide ranging in style - from the breezy "Come Share My Love" and the steamy funk of "Ain't Nobody Like You" to her soul-stirring signature "Love Under New Management," the jazzy "Imagination" and the inferno that is "That's What Love Is" (her duet with the late, great Gerald Levert). She has recorded eight albums but none quite like her new 7-song EP "I Choose to Be Happy from the Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blues Collection." She considers this CD of live and studio material the first in a forthcoming series of mini albums: Miki Howard Reality Music Record Series #1.
ABOUT TV ONE:
Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. The network is the exclusive home of News One Now, the only live daily news program targeting Black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets Black and urban listeners.
|