Xscape Biopic to Air on VH1. Will It Be as Good as TLC's?
By Janice Williams On 5/3/17 at 4:02 PM EDT
Kandi Burruss, formerly of the R&B group Xscape, performs "Yearning for your Love" during a tribute to Charlie Wilson at the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta on November 3, 2009. Tami Chappell/REUTERS
U.S. VH1 Songs
Fans of the R&B group Xscape will get to see the rise and fall of the platinum-selling girl group when VH1 airs a biopic about the band. Composed of singers Kandi Burruss-Tucker, Tameka "Tiny" Harris, LaTocha Scott and Tamika Scott, the group is collaborating with Love & Hip Hop creator Mona Scott Young, whose production firm Monami Entertainment will act as executive producer of the film.
The biopic news comes on the heels of the group's reunion, and just ahead of the 25th anniversary of Xscape's first single, "Just Kickin' It," and debut album, Hummin Comin' at Cha, which was released in 1993. After that, Xscape went on to release three more platinum-selling albums.
The biopic will tell the story of how the group formed and the inexplicable breakup.
SO The ICONIC 1990'S R&B Group #XSCAPE Have A BIOPIC About Their CAREER And RISE To FAME On TOP Of RECORDING Their COMEBACK ALBUM !!!!
— B Mack (@MILANO_MOBBBB) April 24, 2017
"We are excited to join forces with Mona Scott-Young and Monami Entertainment to bring the real Xscape story to the world," the group said in a statement issued to Deadline. "This partnership will allow us to tell our story about our lives the way we lived it. It's our truth about the rise, the fall, and the return of Xscape."
Another network, TV One, is slated to air an unauthorized Xscape biopic, called Who Can I Run To: The Xscape Story, during the network's 2017-2018 season. However, the women said they weren't participating in any way with that production, saying in the statement that the "recent announcement of an unauthorized biopic on our lives is disrespectful and disappointing."
VH1 is continuing a trend of releasing biopics on '90s musicians. In 2013, the network aired CrazySexyCool, which tells the story of superstar '90s hip-hop and R&B group TLC. The highly anticipated biopic—which starred Drew Sidora as Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Keke Palmer as Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas and Lil Mama as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez—received record-breaking ratings, drawing in over 4.5 million viewers and leading the film to become not only VH1's biggest movie of that year but the highest-rated cable movie of 2013.
Along with accurately depicting the trials the TLC members faced following the group's conception—Chilli's unexpected pregnancy with producer Dallas Austin, Left Eye grieving her father's untimely death, T-Boz's struggles with sickle cell disease and the group's battle with bankruptcy, among others—VH1 received praise for the actresses it cast, all of whom bore uncanny resemblance to the women they portrayed.
It's unclear who is being considered to act as Xscape's members, but if VH1's history with biopics is any indication, viewers can count on the actresses to at least look like the singers.
Tinashe could easily play "Tiny" in this Xscape biopic.
— Terry Marcel ®️ (@ThereGoTerry) April 23, 2017
The network is also said to be producing a biopic on the '90s R&B boy band Jodeci. One of the group's four members, Dalvin DeGrate, said during a recent radio interview a film was "in the works already." VH1 has not yet confirmed the Jodeci biopic, and no word yet on when the Xscape film will air.
Madonna Blasts Planned Biopic of Her Life
John McAfee Wants Morgan Freeman to Play Him in Biopic