Lifetime is getting into business with Queen Latifah and Taraji P. Henson as it looks to increase Black storytelling.
On Wednesday, March 4, the network announced the two will executive produce and create original movies for the channel.
“Queen Latifah and Taraji P. Henson are extraordinary talents and dynamic producers who share Lifetime’s passion for telling powerful stories about women,” Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming at A&E, Lifetime and LMN, said in a statement to Urban Hollywood 411.
A&E Networks announced the agreements during its global media upfront presentation on Wednesday.
Queen Latifah has signed on to deliver three new Lifetime original movies through her production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, alongside her longtime producing partner Shakim Compere.
Henson will bring two new original films to Lifetime through her production company, TPH Entertainment, in partnership with Fox Entertainment Studios.
In October 2025, Henson inked a first-look production deal with Fox, home of her previous series, Empire.
Lifetime is also getting into vertical storytelling with Tides of Temptation, a micro drama movie executive produced by Taye Diggs, Autumn Federici and Shelby Stone.
The feature will serve as a digital offshoot of the network’s upcoming Love of a Lifetime franchise original movie Terry McMillan Presents: Paradise with You, starring Diggs, Heather Hemmens, and Cynthia Bailey.
Creator, musician and actor Q Stenline aka SwagBoyQ, Troy Brookins, Mea Wilkerson, and David John Craig lead the cast of the vertical movie.
“When we first heard the pitch from Autumn and Taye for a micro drama connected to a movie, it felt like a smart, strategic way to enter the vertical space,” said Rob Sharenow, president of programming at A+E Global Media.
Diggs added, “We approached this as a fully realized dramatic project, not just short-form content. It’s an opportunity to bring emotional depth and visual ambition into a format designed for today’s audiences.”
In November 2025, Diggs starred in and executive produced McMillan’s romance film His, Hers & Ours.
Several other Lifetime projects were also announced at the upfront.
Love, Again — a new original movie starring Valerie Bertinelli, Henry Czerny and Eric McCormack has been greenlit. The film examines “loyalty, compassion, and the strength required to navigate unimaginable change, asking what love truly means when memory fades but the heart remains steadfast.”
When I Said I Do — a movie from executive producers Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black is inspired by their duet and “tells a story about second chances, choosing love after loss, and reminding everyone that love is not just a vow, it’s a daily act of courage.”
Angel in the Rubble — tells the story of Genelle Guzman, a New York City transit employee who was the last survivor pulled from the debris at Ground Zero. As previously reported, Sherri Shepherd stars in the film as Guzman and executive produces.
The survival story is based on Guzman’s memoir and comes from Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts and her Rock’n Robin Productions.
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