Janet Jackson Documentary, ‘JANET’, in the Works at Lifetime, A&E

Janet Jackson’s life and music career is getting the small-screen treatment. Lifetime and A&E on Wednesday announced they officially greenlighted a two-night, four-hour, cross-network documentary event tentatively titled JANET to mark the 40th anniversary of her 1982 debut album, Janet Jackson. The “intimate, honest and unfiltered” documentary is expected to premiere sometime in early 2022.

Set to work as an executive producer alongside Randy Jackson on the project, the pop icon granted “unprecedented access” for the documentary, which will feature archival footage and never-before-seen home videos, as well as “star-studded” interviews with those close to the singer. Chronicling her personal life and professional career, the documentary will follow Jackson and her family as they go “through another extremely difficult time” following the death of her father, Joseph, the patriarch of the Jackson dynasty who passed away in 2018. The documentary will also explore other pivotal and highly talked about moments in the musician’s life, including her Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake, which Timberlake recently issued an apology for, the death of her brother, Michael Jackson and her journey to motherhood.

“As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Janet Jackson’s very first album, this will be the definitive story of Janet Jackson, one of the best-selling and highest-earning artists in music history. Janet has enjoyed immense success but also seen incredible tragedy. She has endured a tumultuous private life in the face of extraordinary public scrutiny,” A&E said in a press release. “With no stone left unturned, JANET lifts the lid on her private life for the very first time and reveals the most intimate moments of the star ever caught on camera.”

JANET is part of more than 2,500 hours of new programming announced at the A+E Networks upfront. On Wednesday, the network announced a new documentary film from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an expansion of History’s That Built franchise, and a two-movie deal with Reba McEntire. As part of that deal, McEntire will star in and produce two movies for the network, the first of which has a working title of Christmas In Tune and will “be featured as a tentpole movie for the network’s annual holiday slate” and will include an original holiday song by McEntire.

JANET is co-produced by Workerbee and Associated Entertainment Corporation. Filming on the documentary has been underway for three years. It will premiere sometime in 2022 on both Lifetime and A&E. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for the latest updates.