Get ready for more love, peace and souuuuul in your life, because BET’s latest dramatic vehicle, American Soul, is coming.
From BET’s press release:
American Soul is the story about the struggle to make the dream of Soul Train come true. Set in the early 70’s, filled with music, dance, fashion and glamour, this is the untold story of the launch of the first nationally-syndicated Black music show and what happened when the music stopped. Battles with record labels for top talent, off-camera drama as young dancers vie for the spotlight, stand in the way of a 30-something Don Cornelius who is sacrificing all that he loves to follow his dream. The journeys of these characters collide in a racially charged LA with the odds stacked against them. All they have is each other and the magic of Soul Train.
In the above first-look clip, Don Cornelius (Sinqua Walls) tries to convince Gladys Knight (Kelly Rowland) to give his new vision, Soul Train, a chance.
“I’m talking about a national television show written, produced, and owned black folks,” says Cornelius in the clip. “I’m talking about bringing us not whitewashed, not toned-down, but us. Into millions of homes, like it or not! Black folks the way black folks was meant to be seen: strong, powerful, and beautiful. Won’t be another show like it. And it won’t just be mine— it’ll be all of ours.”
Along with Rowland, guest star appearances across several episodes will include Michelle Williams as Diana Ross, Bobby Brown as Rufus Thomas, Gabrielle Dennis (The Bobby Brown Story) as Tina Turner, McKinley Freeman (Hit the Floor) as Ike Turner and K. Michelle as Martha Reeves.
American Soul premieres on BET Feb. 5, 2019, at 9 p.m. ET / PT.