Lifetime’s two-night docuseries Janet Jackson. could’ve easily been a three-night event; it deserved to be. And among the 15.7 million viewers tuned in, it’s possible die-hard fans like me felt similarly.

*The documentary* Janet Jackson. is available to stream for free at *mylifetime.com*.

Lemme say first that I’m grateful we got the documentary at all ‘cause Janet thee diva Damita Jo Miss Jackson if ya nasty owes us absolutely nothing. She’s given us so many hits, videos, performances, and memories over the legacy of her nearly 50-year career, including the literal clothes off of her back. The JanFam has been very well fed.

Since my first live concert, nosebleed seats at the 1994 janet. tour stop in Oakland, I’ve seen the queen live 13 total times, including her 2019 Las Vegas residency, Metamorphosis. During the Vegas show, mama performed a mashup of 41 hits in two hours; an overview of favorites because mother’s catalogue is too stacked to reeeally linger. If she did go deep into the catalogue, we’d be up all night ‘til the early light. And that’d be alright with me.

The documentary felt similar to her concert sets, medleys of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments we know and love. Except here, the narrative focused more on the men who influenced and controlled her life rather than her career and the artistry we worship.

Romantic vulnerability is appreciated, but ma’am, we’re here for the music. The harmonies. The choreography. The fashion. The Janet-ness of it all. There was so little of that.

“Where was the janet. album? The Velvet Rope? All For You? Damita Jo? Did we just gloss over these integral contributions to the canon of pop music?”

She had such an opportunity to brag about herself much more than she did. Rhythm Nation got some attention, but where was the janet. album? The Velvet Rope? All For You? Damita Jo? Did we just gloss over these integral contributions to the canon of pop music?

The briefest flash of a “blacklisted” headline aside, this was the time to call out CBS/Viacom and Les Moonves’ racist, misogynistic treatment after 2004’s Super Bowl nip-slip; their attempts to diminish her from an unrivaled megastar into a Black female menace over a fucking half-second mistake. She – or someone else in her camp – shoulda gave Les Moonves the bizniss. Without even naming names, this was the platform to say, “Y’all fumbled my bag!”

After five years of filming and five decades worth of archival footage, at the end of watching the highly-anticipated program I couldn't resist asking, “That’s the end?” And on The Tonight Show she was vague as ever about serving up new music, so let’s wait a while to see what’s up her sleeve.

Janet Jackson. is available to stream for free at mylifetime.com.