The Jackson 5 story is getting a new chapter, and this time the focus is on the four brothers who started it all. An untitled 90-minute documentary will center on Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito Jackson, tracing their rise from Gary, Indiana to Motown to Epic Records. It’s also being cut into a three-part series, so fans can go as deep as they want.
Director Benjamin Hirsch, who helmed the Janet Jackson documentary and Bruno v Tyson, spent three years putting this together. The film features rare archive footage, observational filming and the brothers’own memories of their father Joe Jackson’s demanding management and their mother Katherine’s central role in the family. Jermaine’s departure and Randy stepping in is part of the story too.
The most emotional piece: the documentary includes Tito Jackson’s final interview before his death in 2024 at age 70. The Jackson 5 famously became the first group to debut with four consecutive No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, a record that still stands out in pop history. The film is currently being shopped to international buyers at Mipcom in Cannes, so a release date should be coming soon.
Which Jackson 5 era do you want the documentary to spend the most time on — the Motown years or the Epic era? Let us know in the comments.
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Local Lawton
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