2022 marks 40 years since the release of Janet Jackson’s self-titled debut solo album. The US television networks, Lifetime and A&E, have combined to produce the two-part, four-hour documentary film, Janet.
The film’s first trailer has surfaced, along with confirmation of the US release date for part one (Friday, 28th January). The film has been in production for five years and was made in partnership with Jackson herself.
This is significant given that, despite her family history and immense individual success, Jackson has coveted privacy throughout her four decade career. At the beginning of the trailer, an interviewer asks, “Why did you want to do this documentary?” Jackson replies: “It’s just something that needs to be done.”
The trailer includes testimonies on Jackson’s brilliant career from Whoopi Goldberg, Missy Elliott, Samuel L. Jackson, Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey, Q-Tip, Janelle Monae, Teyana Taylor, Tyler Perry and more.
“For her to want to open up,” says Q-Tip, “I’m flabbergasted.”
Jackson’s ex-partner, Jermaine Dupri, and her mum, Katherine Jackson, also make appearances. In the trailer, Janet can be heard reflecting on the controversies surrounding her brother, Michael, and the Jackson family’s famously demanding patriarch, Joe.
“My father was very strict,” she says. “He was in charge of my life, my career, and my father said, ‘You’re going to sing.’”
Watch the trailer below.
✨Happy New Year! It's the moment we've all been waiting for – night one of #JanetJacksonDoc premieres Friday, January 28th at 8/7c.✨@janetjackson @aetv pic.twitter.com/u8HtKs3edO
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) January 1, 2022
