The Oprah Winfrey Network has chosen the subject for its first scripted TV movie. The cable network is expanding its growing scripted slate with an adaption of My Name Is Love: The Darlene Love Story.
Darlene Love, who penned the memoir and is attached to executive produce, is best-known as the backup singer featured in the Oscar-nominated hit documentary 20 Feet From Stardom.
“The fantastic life journey of music great Darlene Love is the perfect choice for our first original scripted movie,” said OWN president Sheri Salata. “There are a handful of stories brought to the screen of daring American women who walked through fire and back to make their dreams come true and Darlene is one of the heroes on that list. From her first hit song to her darkest days cleaning houses in Beverly Hills to make ends meet, to the triumphant comeback that made rock and roll history, Darlene is a true living legend who worked with many of the greatest talents in music from Elvis Presley and Tom Jones to Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.”
Oprah Winfrey and Morgan Neville are also on board to executive produce.
The network has also licensed the first broadcast window on cable television for 20 Feet From Stardom, starting in 2015. The documentary is nominated for an Academy Award this year.
Love, an iconic voice of the 1960s on The Crystals hits “He’s a Rebel” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” and tracks like “Today I Met the Boy I’m Gonna Marry” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” has been riding a wave of fame for the last year since the documentary exposed the famous backup singer’s rich career.
