Written by Eboni Register, Staff Writer

“The New Edition Story” premiered on Jan. 24 through 26 on Black Entertainment Television. “The New Edition Story” is a six-hour long, three-part series biopic that shows the rise to fame of American boy band New Edition.

Six black men, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Johny Gill, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell and Ronnie DeVoe , who grew up in the projects in Boston got their chance at fame by creating the band, New Edition, as young adolescents.

In the series, viewers see this group grow from boys, to young men and then into adults. Within the three-part series, there were many trials and tribulations depicted on camera, which included drug abuse, alcohol abuse, behavioral problems and other unhealthy tendencies.

As teenagers progressing into their 20s, it was hard for the men of New Edition to stay focused on the prize; they had a lot of eyes on them, as this was the pinnacle of their career.

Woody McClain did an impressive job of playing the role of one of the original members of New Edition, Bobby Brown. McClain thoroughly exuded the ego of Brown, as he was in 1985. Brown was uncontrollable and unmanageable in the group during this time, resulting in his solo career.

As the series progressed, the episodes showed, in tedious detail, how the R&B/Pop stars became who they are and how they got where they are today. Seeing the group started from three, grew to six and then separated into multiple groups, it was vital that all the artists’ stories be told.

BET Network did an outstanding job on keeping the viewers interested in the highly dramatized lifestyle depicted in “The New Edition Story,” while also staying true to the reality of how the group paved the way for artists who followed in their footsteps.