BET Networks’ three-part series, “The New Edition Story,” was undeniably the most successful series for the network in years. The story of one of music’s most legendary boy bands beat expectations in television viewership.

The initial programming broke records by being the highest rated show for BET in 5 years. The first 2-hour episode drew 4.4 million viewers, with 200,000 of the views brought in on BET’s sister network, Centric.

Fans helped trend “The New Edition Story” on social media, even boosting hashtags like #candygirl #bobbybrown and #mikebivins into Twitter’s Top 20 Trending Topics. By the last night, Thursday, January 26, BET reigned as the #1 most social network on television.

On Sunday, January 29, Michael Bivins took to Instagram to share his excitement about the series’ success. He also noted that “The New Edition Story” racked in 19 million viewers.

“The New Edition Story ! Brought families together and a younger generation , is singing candy girl ! The people have been heard and numbers dont lie 19million viewers.Every executive that works at a movie building , tv channel or agent in NY or LA ! Was caught off guard with the success of this movie and how it broke numbers on cable TV#yallshowedup! When @bet made the announcement they where doing our life story, alot of the community said why them and when the cast was decided folks said why them? BET is the only network that believed in our story and they went out and raised millions of dollars to shoot it raw and real and quality, because they didn’t wanna let you all down or our journey #grateful ! Make your deals and read your paperwork ladies and gents in the game , let’s raise the bar of business and entertainment! Thank you on behalf of my brothers and our families! This one is for the culture….God bless NE …..”

 

The New Edition Story ! Brought families together and a younger generation , is singing candy girl ! The people have been heard and numbers dont lie 19million viewers.Every executive that works at a movie building , tv channel or agent in NY or LA ! Was caught off guard with the success of this movie and how it broke numbers on cable TV#yallshowedup! When @bet made the announcement they where doing our life story, alot of the community said why them and when the cast was decided folks said why them? BET is the only network that believed in our story and they went out and raised millions of dollars to shoot it raw and real and quality, because they didn’t wanna let you all down or our journey #grateful ! Make your deals and read your paperwork ladies and gents in the game , let’s raise the bar of business and entertainment! Thank you on behalf of my brothers and our families! This one is for the culture….God bless NE …..

A photo posted by Mike Bivins aka Sporty (@617mikebiv) on

And in perfect timing, New Edition received a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame about a week ago. All of the group member’s including Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie Devoe, Mike Bivins, Ricky Bell, Bobby Brown, and Johnny Gill were there for the celebration.

For those who missed the three-part series, BET announced encore dates for “The New Edition Story” and they are as follows:

— Saturday, 1/28 from 11am-5pm

— Saturday, 1/28 from 5pm-11pm

— Monday, 1/30 from 8pm-2am

— Monday, 2/20 from 6pm-12am