November 15 (1992-11-15) – November 18, 1992 (1992-11-18)
The Jacksons: An American Dream is a five-hour miniseries broadcast in two halves on ABC and originally broadcast on November 15 through November 18, 1992.[1] It is based upon the history of the Jackson family, one of the most successful musical families in show business, and the early and successful years of the popular Motown group The Jackson 5.
The Jacksons: An American Dream is based on Katherine Jackson's My Familyautobiography. A critical and commercial success, the program won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Choreography, while the performances of Hilton-Jacobs and Bassett received widespread acclaim.
Act 1 of the film is based on young Katherine and Joseph meeting and courting in the 1940s and showing how they managed to start out raising their children in Gary, Indiana in the 1950s and 1960s, how Joseph discovers the children have talent and starts entering them in talent shows, and finally how The Jackson 5 go on to have early fame and face its consequences in the late 1960s.
Act 2 of the film deals with the struggles of young Michael Jackson as he faces his brothers marrying early into The Jackson 5's success, his problems with acne as a teenager, and the group's eventual switch to Epic Records in the 1970s, his eventual solo superstardom based on the success of his albums Off the Wall and Thriller, the commercial mishap that caused his hair to ignite, and his legendary Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean", as well as confronting his difficult relationship with his father in the 1980s.
The Jacksons: An American Dream became one of the most popular and successful music-biography miniseries of the 1990s. Part 1 of the miniseries was the third highest-rated program broadcast during the week of November 9–15 with a 21.1 rating.[2] Part 2 of the miniseries was watched by 38.4 million viewers[3] in 22.3 million households[4] becoming the highest-rated program broadcast during the week of November 16–22[4] posting a 23.9 rating, and 36 share.[3] Overall, the miniseries was watched in 38.3 million households and posted a 22.3 rating and 33 share.[5]
The series won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Choreography, and was also nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special, Outstanding Miniseries, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special.
Bumper Robinson won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Television Movie, and Alex Burrall and Jason Weaver both won a special award for Outstanding Young Performers Starring in a Mini-Series. The miniseries was later rebroadcast on VH1 and released to VHS and DVD.[6] The DVD version of the miniseries was released as a two-disc set. The first disc was named "The Early Years" and the second disc was named "The Success Years".
The miniseries aired frequently after the death of Michael Jackson. Along with that, came the shock of the death of Wylie Draper, who died from leukemia just one year after the miniseries’ release. It has been shown on TV One, BET, Centric and VH1.
