After Breaking Records, 'Surviving R. Kelly' Part 2 Is For Survivors

Despite the success of the powerful six-part series, however, the team behind the documentary were hesitant to start working on a follow-up.

Rk
IndieWire

It came as a surprise and a rather pleasant one with the fact that the docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly went on to become a huge hit, breaking records and even taking social media by storm. Needless to say, this also acted as a catalyst for the slate of federal and state criminal sex abuse charges that embattled artist R. Kelly is currently facing.

Despite the success of the powerful six-part series, however, the team behind the documentary were hesitant to start working on a follow-up.

"We were all pretty nervous about what had just occurred and how much impact the doc had had, and the conversation around it. We didn’t want to jeopardize it," Brie Miranda Bryant, Lifetime's senior vp of unscripted development and programming, tells The Hollywood Reporter in a conversation with fellow executive producer Jesse Daniels.

But now, one year after the Emmy-nominated Surviving R. Kelly's release, the producing team is back with a five-part sequel that will again air across three nights on Lifetime, starting on Thursday.

On what impact do creators expect from Part 2, Daniels said, "We hope to continue to spark larger conversations around sexual violence and how we as a society have a responsibility to support victims of it. R. Kelly is just one person — there are many other victims out there that need support and help on their way to becoming survivors of abuse and trauma. None of this will change overnight, but what Surviving R. Kelly has done is opened up the conversation so that these patterns have less of a chance of continuing."

Bryant said, "We hope that Part 2 continues to contribute to the conversation around ending sexual violence. We hope that people continue to uplift the survivors who have been brave enough to share their stories with the world. And, most importantly, we hope that our survivors find more peace in their lives moving forward."

Your reaction

Nice
Awesome
Loved
LOL
OMG
Cry
Fail

Comments (0)

Latest Stories