The premiere of TV One’s original biopic The Bobby DeBarge Story on Saturday, June 29 debuted at #1 on television (broadcast and cable) among African Americans.
The four airings of The Bobby DeBarge Story during premiere weekend had a combined reach of 1.8 Million Unique Viewers.
The film ranks as TV One’s #4 Original Movie premiere in the network’s history.
The network’s top original films, also biopics, include When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story, Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story and Bobbi Kristina.
Continuing the network’s tradition of highlighting inspirational music figures, The Bobby DeBarge Story explores the tumultuous life of the former lead singer of the 70’s R&B/Funk Band Switch, also the eldest sibling of the world-famous group DeBarge.
Social media buzz was also high on premiere night, the hashtag #BobbyDeBargeStory sustained momentum as a Top 10 nationally-trending topic on Twitter for over a three-hour duration, ranking as high as number 4.
Despite his success in music, the iconic falsetto found his life in peril as he struggled with fame and fortune while coping with the memories of his dysfunctional childhood. In his first role as a leading man, Roshon Fegan brilliantly transforms into the falsetto master and takes audiences inside the life of Bobby DeBarge. The film also stars Tyra Ferrell as Etterlene DeBarge, Blue Kimble as Tommy DeBarge, Adrian Marcel as James DeBarge, Big Boi as legendary music mogul Berry Gordy, and Lloyd as Switch member Gregory Williams.
TV One will air an encore presentation of the highly anticipated film on Sunday, July 21 at 4 P.M. ET. Viewers can also download the TV ONE App to watch the film.
