The Preface

Jackie, Marlon, Tito and Jermaine (l-r)

The four surviving members of the Jackison 5 join the reality show brigade Sunday with “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty” at 9 p.m. on A&E.

 

Atlanta-based executive producerJodi Gomes, who has known the Jacksons since the ABC miniseries in 1992, put the show together with Jermaine Jackson. Jermaine convinced Marlon, Jackie and Tito to join him to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jackson 5’s first hit “I Want You Back.” The quartet had plans for an album and tour.

There’s another local connection: Marlon, 52, lives in the Atlanta area and scenes for the show were shot at Justin’s Restaurant in Buckhead. (A&E provided a solid budget, enabling Gomes to also tape Marlon in Nigeria, Jermaine in Mumbai, India and Tito in the U.K.)

Gomes said the show started taping in January, originally as a one-hour special, but was greenlit by A&E in the spring as a six-episode series. In fact, the pilot was finished just days before Michael Jackson’s death on June 25. That first episode at 9 p.m. references Michael’s death at the end. The next hour, to air at 10 p.m., deals with the aftermath.

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