Lifetime examines sexual violence in R. Kelly series

NEW YORK — Few TV documentary series can boast having a more powerful real world impact than “Surviving R. Kelly.”

Although allegations of sexual abuse against minors followed R&B superstar R. Kelly for 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 difference: this time, R. Kelly will be behind bars when it is shown.

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; Beyonce's father, Mathew Knowles; lawyer Gloria Allred; and Illinois prosecutor Kimberly M. Foxx.

An estimated

26 million people saw all or some of the original Lifetime documentary series that brought together dozens of people who accused the singer of sexual misconduct and kidnapping.

The series faced backlash and fingerpointing. Some blamed the music industry. Some blamed the media and law enforcement for ignoring the alleged conduct because the victims were black women. Some blamed the parents of the alleged victims for not doing enough.

“It just felt like a ton of finger-pointing without real answers. We wanted to be able to answer those questions as best as possible,” Bryant said.

Kelly, 52, is currently in jail, scheduled to stand trial in Cook County in September. He also is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago in April and again in federal court in New York the next month.

Kelly has denied all the allegations related to sexual assault with minors, but the #Muterkelly movement has damaged his financial stability.

Bryant said the indictments against R. Kelly were never the goal of the series. She said some alleged survivors want restorative justice, some want apologies.

“Justice looks like a lot of different things for a lot of people,” she said.

“For Lifetime, in general, and my colleagues, it’s about continuing to be a platform for women’s stories, period, and that, to us, that is justice.”