Entertainment Tonight will release never-before-seen footage of the late Whitney Houston in the new CBS special, “Whitney, a Look Back,” set to air on April 2 at 8 p.m. on CBS and available to stream the next day on Paramount Plus.
Entertainment Tonight, which is also producing the special, will release the footage from its vault, in addition to new interviews with stars including Dionne Warwick, Clive Davis, CeCe Winans, Monica and Kelly Price. Airing shortly after the 10th anniversary of the singer’s death on Feb. 11, the special will explore the days leading up to and following that tragic day in 2012.
The announcement of “Whitney, a Look Back” comes as the singer’s estate has seen its earnings quadruple over the last three years, ever since Primary Wave Music took control of half of Houston’s assets in 2019.
“We have massively, over the course of our three-year partnership, improved the earnings of the estate,” Primary Wave founder and CEO Larry Mestel told Variety last month. “We’ve basically quadrupled the earnings stream of the estate through a lot of low-hanging fruit: renegotiation of partnerships, focusing on merchandise, digital strategy and social media enhancement — upping the game in general.”
A number of projects involving Houston are in the works, including “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” a biopic about Houston starring Naomi Ackie, that is set to premiere in December. Additional endeavors include two posthumous Houston albums set to release in 2023, along with a Broadway adaptation of the biopic and a Las Vegas tribute show.
Houston was a singer and actress who sold more than 200 million records over the course of her career, including the hit songs, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “Higher Love” and “The Greatest Love of All.” She won eight Grammys and two Emmy awards, and her film career included the 1992 movie “The Bodyguard” and the 1997 “Cinderella” remake with Brandy. Her death at 48 years old shocked the world, and her influence has continued to find its way into music, film and pop culture in the ten years since her death.
“Whitney, a Look Back” is produced by Entertainment Tonight. Erin Johnson is executive producer with Leslie Kawaguchi and Whitney Wallace as co-executive producers of the special.