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Following R. Kelly‘s paramount conviction in federal court after decades as a sexual abuser and trafficker, the third installment in Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly documentary series will arrive on Jan. 2-3, as part of a two-night event.
Titled Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter, the docuseries will feature bombshell revelations from Kelly’s 2021 trial, where he faced charges including racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, forced labor and Mann Act Coercion and Enticement. The series will detail the disgraced R&B star’s crimes, which led to his conviction on nine counts and a sentence of 30 years in prison. Interviewees shed light on key moments including Azriel Clary and Joycelyn Savage’s infamous interviews with Gayle King, as told by Clary’s father, and firsthand accounts of the intimidation tactics used by Kelly and his team surrounding victim testimonies, including setting fire to a Jane Doe’s car with intent to intimidate.
The documentary will also shed light on Kelly’s lesser known victims, including a John Doe, and his relationship with late R&B singer Aaliyah, 12 years his junior. Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter is executive produced by Joel Karsberg, Tamra Simmons, Jesse Daniels, Maria Pepin and Brie Miranda Bryant, and contains over 60 voices and testimonials, including victims, their families, Kelly’s supporters, reporters who attended the trial, among others.
The docuseries trailer shows the chaos that erupted for five weeks outside of the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse, including supporters with microphones yelling “Justice for R. Kelly” day after day, a supporter with Kelly’s name tattooed on her chest, and the influx of press swarming the premises.
During the trial, Kelly’s defense team argued for the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer to receive the minimum sentence of 10 years or less, citing in court documents a “traumatic childhood involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.”
Prosecutors, however, sought a minimum 25-year term. In the end, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years, unintentionally symbolic of the 30 years of abuse he inflicted on countless victims, known and unknown.
How to Watch Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter
Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter will air on Lifetime at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Jan. 1-2. If you have Lifetime through cable or satellite, you can watch the two-part docuseries on to TV or stream it via mylifetime.com (or the Lifetime app).
Cord cutters can stream Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter on Philo, Sling, Fubo, DirectTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV and other platforms that offer Lifetime.
If you’re streaming on a budget, Philo is $25 a month after a free trial for the first week. And if you’re looking for an even better deal, T-Mobile customers can subscribe to Philo for just $15 a month for the first 12 months.
Philo offers 60+ live and on-demand channels (Lifetime, A&E, ID, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, HGTV and more), unlimited DVR, streaming on up to three devices at the same time and you can create up to 10 profiles.
Watch the trailer for Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter below.