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More Than 19 Million Viewers Tuned in Over Weekend to The Lifetime Original Movie '"he Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale;" August 19 Premiere Becomes Lifetime's Second Most-Watched Movie in Network's 22-Year History With 6.6 Million Viewers
posted on Aug 23, 2006
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More than 19 million* viewers tuned in
during the August 19-20 weekend to watch the poignant Lifetime Original Movie
"The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale," which starred the
"American Idol" winner in her own rags-to-riches Cinderella story. The
Saturday, August 19 premiere at 9PM (ET/PT) became Lifetime's second most-
watched movie in its 22-year history with 6.6 million viewers (5.0 household
rating).
Among all original 2006 basic cable movie premieres, "Fantasia" ranks #1
among W18-34 and W18-49 rating.The Sunday, August 20 encore at 8PM (ET/PT) drew more than 5 million
viewers and a 4.0 household rating. Traffic to LifetimeTV.com surged more than 70% in page views and 68% in
unique visitors over the weekend compared to the August 12-13 weekend. But
Fantasiamania isn't over yet! At Lifetimetv.com, the national "Fantasia" essay
contest runs through September 16, with the winner receiving two tickets to
the 2007 "American Idol" season finale. In "The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale," Loretta Devine
("Dreamgirls," "Crash," "Boston Public," "Waiting to Exhale") co-starred as
Fantasia's grandmother, and Addie Collins and Tony® Award winner Viola Davis
("Traffic," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit")
starred as Fantasia's mother, Diane Barrino. Rounding out the ensemble cast
were Kadeem Hardison ("A Different World," "Biker Boyz") in the role of
Fantasia's father, JoJo Barrino. Newcomer Jamia Simone Nash ("My Wife and
Kids") played the young Fantasia. Acclaimed Emmy® and Golden Globe®-
winning choreographer, actress and director Debbie Allen ("Fame,"
"Girlfriends") directed the film. "The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairy Tale" was produced by
Ostar Productions for Lifetime Television. Bill Haber ("Nightmares &
Dreamscapes," "Uprising") served as the executive producer and Ellyn Williams
(Lifetime Television's "Hunger Point") co-executive produced. John McMahon
("Nightmares & Dreamscapes") produced the movie and Keith Glover wrote the
teleplay based on the autobiography Life is Not a Fairy Tale by Fantasia
Barrino. *Source: Nielsen Media Research (8/19-20/06) P2+ cume based on 1 minute qualifier, 75% Unification
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