The African-American film adaptation of "Steel Magnolias" on Lifetime attracted millions of viewers this past weekend, making it the network's third most watched telecast ever. A total of 6.5 million viewers knocked the former third place holder, 2006's "Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story" from its position. Directed by Kenny Leon, "Steel Magnolias" starred Phylicia Rashad, Adepero Oduye, Condola Rashad with Jill Scott, Alfre Woodard, and Queen Latifah, who also served as executive producer. "Abducted: The Carlina White Story" starring Keke Palmer, which premiered right before "Magnolias," also performed well, drawing in an average of 4.1 million total viewers.
"We couldn't be happier with the great response Steel Magnolias and Abducted: The Carlina White Story received from viewers this weekend," said Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President, Programming, of Lifetime Networks. "These incredible numbers speak to the powerful stories and performances delivered by amazing casts and the strong production teams behind each movie. We are very proud to have partnered with them on these very special films."
