Toni Braxton Launches Lifetime Film Series Inspired by Her Hit Songs

Lifetime has set the first titles in Toni Braxton’s multi-picture deal adapting the R&B icon’s signature hits for the screen, beginning with a feature based on Braxton B2000 smash “He Wasn’t Man Enough.”

Braxton stars in the film as Mel Montgomery, a bestselling author blindsided when her boyfriend Richard (Thomas Cadrot) ends their relationship—only for Mel to learn he’s newly engaged to Monica (Essence Atkins), a friend from her college days.

Yvette Nicole Brown co-stars. He Wasn’t Man Enough premieres Nov. 22 at 8/7c, part of Lifetime’s “Love of a Lifetime” slate. The project is produced by Braxton alongside Tanya Lopez and Kenneth Crear, with Stan Brooks directing and serving as executive producer.

The second installment, Breathe Again, follows three contestants from a reality dating show who fail to find “the one.” After relocating from Los Angeles to Seattle, the trio—played by Atkins and Cree Summer, among others—forge a sisterhood as they rebuild their lives.

The song “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” from Braxton’s third album The Heat, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart in 2000. “Breathe Again,” from her 1993 debut, reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 and earned Braxton her second consecutive Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 1995.

With the deal, Braxton expands her footprint as star and producer—reimagining her chart-topping catalog as contemporary, character-led TV movies.