Cue “Mr. Telephone Man.”
BET Networks announced on Monday (Aug. 10) that it would be airing its first original music-based television movie, and it will be a New Edition biopic. The three-part series will be based on the R&B that rose to prominence in the ‘80s with members Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant. While the rest of the group’s members have signed on to co-produce the film, Brown is not set to participate in the making of the project.
READ: Miguel, Ne-Yo, Estelle and More Channel Their Favorite New Edition Members
Set to debut in 2016, the New Edition biopic will be written by Abdul Williams (Lottery Ticket) and co-produced by the group’s manager Brooke Payne. Bell, Bivins, DeVoe, Gill and Tresvant released a statement on the film’s release, likening the upcoming movie to previous biopics on The Jackson Five and The Temptations.
“We are happy to have New Edition Enterprises collaborate with BET Networks’ Debra Lee and Stephen Hill along with Jesse Collins Entertainment,” it read. “From our beginning in the Orchard Park Projects in Boston to Hollywood and everything in between, just like The Temptations and The Jackson Five—we are ready to retrace our footsteps and show everyone how we got here. For the fans all over the world, this one’s for you.”
The film is set to begin shooting in early 2016.
