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For more than 30 years, John Kiesewetter has been the source for information about all things in local media — comings and goings, local people appearing on the big or small screen, special programs, and much more. Contact John at johnkiese@yahoo.com.

'Girl From The Hood' Starts Production This Week

Internet Movie Database

Production starts this week here on "Girl From The Hood," the Lifetime movie about R&B singer Michel'le, the Lifetime movie publicist tells me.

And we won't have to wait long to see it.

Unlike "Carol," "Marauders" and "Miles Ahead," which took months or years to be seen here, "Girl From The Hood" will air this fall, the Lifetime publicist says.

TV movies can air two months after ending production, such as Mariah Carey's "A Christmas Melody" – shot here in October and telecast on the Hallmark Channel in December. "Marauders," the Bruce Willis-Christopher Meloni bank robbery thriller filmed here in October, opens July 1 nationwide, including Cincinnati.

Rhyon Nicole Brown ("Eight Crazy Dates," "Lincoln Heights") and R. Marcos Taylor ("Straight Outta Compton") star in the bio picture set in Los Angeles. The film dramatizes Michel'le's relationships with Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Suge Knight, N.W.A., Ruthless Records and Death Row Records.

"Girl From The Hood" is part of Lifetime's new fall strategy aimed at female viewers --  called "The Fempire," a play on Fox's popular "Empire" music drama– with shows involving or about Selena Gomez, Serena Williams, Janet Jackson, UFC star Ronda Rousey and  "The Vampie Diaries" writer Holly Brix.

"The Fempire" is "dedicated to entertaining and engaging the next generation of feminists by creating content for women, by women and about women," Lifetime said.

"It still sucks to be a woman in America because women feel dismissed in both big and small ways throughout their day every day. We know our viewers come to Lifetime because we empower them," said Liz Gateley, Lifetime executive vice president and head of programming announcing "The Fempire" earlier this year. 

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The Lifetime projects include:

Selena Gomez will executive produce a scripted drama inspired by her own life experiences, navigating a career in Hollywood as seen through the eyes of her friends who quickly become her most trusted inner circle.

Holly Brix, "The Vampire Diaries" writer, is developing a "mysterious" soap about a group of strangers who are brought together by an unknown puppet master, threatening to expose their past misdeeds and hidden lives. "A race to uncover the identity of their blackmailer ensues before this deeply flawed group of people is forced into doing the unthinkable," Lifetime says.

Ronda Rousey, the UFC star turned actress ("Entourage," "Furious 7," "The Expendables"), has a "three-picture movie deal to bring stories that reflect her passions about empowerment to the screen."

Serena Williams, the tennis star, will executive produce a movie called "Sister Dance," "inspired by the annual dance-off competition she hosts with her sister, Venus. In the film, two sisters become rivals once they pit themselves against each other and their respective dance teams in an epic dance battle."

Janet Jackson will executive produce the story of 1920’s New York City mobster, "Queenie."  It is a "a true story about the first and only woman gangster during the prohibition, set against the backdrop of The Cotton Club," Lifetime says.

Michel'le: Lifetime says the Michel’le story details the life of the R&B singer who was discovered at a young age by Easy E and became a platinum artist on Ruthless Records. Dr. Dre’s girlfriend for more than a decade and later married to Suge Knight, Michel’le was there for N.W.A.’s wild ride, with all of its dramatic ups and down. Finally, after years of silence, Michel’le is ready to reveal her side of the story."

John Kiesewetter, who has covered television and media for more than 35 years, has been working for Cincinnati Public Radio and WVXU-FM since 2015.