FX DEAR MAMA “Changes” Episode 2 (Airs Friday, April 21). Pictured: Tupac Shakur. CR: FX
The life of gone-too-soon rapper Tupac Shakur is being told in a new documentary called “Dear Mama,” premiering Friday, April 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the show on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both come with a free trial.
Those are the two best live stream options if you’re cutting cable, but there are also some other alternatives, so here’s a full guide on the different ways to watch “Dear Mama” streaming live online:
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DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” FX is included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “Dear Mama” live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of FX and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch “Dear Mama” live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows on-demand within three days (and sometimes longer) of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of FX and 40-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” bundle. This option doesn’t come with a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with FX, and you can get your first month half off:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch “Dear Mama” live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of FX and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+ at no added cost:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch “Dear Mama” live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which will include new episodes the day after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of FX and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo. This doesn’t include a free trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch “Dear Mama” live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
‘Dear Mama’ Preview
Rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was tragically killed in 1996 at the age of 25 when he died from injuries sustained in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. No one has ever been charged for the murder, though in the Netflix documentary about the murders of Shakur and Biggie Smalls, who was killed just months after Shakur, a man named Duane “Keefe D” Davis claimed that his nephew Orlando Anderson was the shooter after Anderson was beaten up that night by Shakur and his entourage as part of the gang feud between the Bloods and the Crips. Keefe D claimed to have been in the car with Anderson that night when the shooting happpened. Anderson was killed in an unrelated gang shooting in 1998.
But the new FX docuseries is not really focusing on Shakur’s murder but rather his life before fame and his relationship with his mother Afeni.
The series will air in five parts and seeks to defy “the conventions of traditional documentary storytelling to share an illuminating saga of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur,” according to the FX press release.
It continues:
Afeni Shakur was a revolutionary, an intellect and a voice for the people. She became a feminist darling of the ’70s, a female leader in the movement amidst the macho milieu of the Black Panther Party. Tupac was a rapper and poet, a political visionary and philosopher who became known as one of the greatest rap artists of all time. In addition to becoming a global sex symbol and media favorite for his outspoken and sometimes outrageous antics, he would eventually become the poster child for modern Black activism. Their story chronicles the possibilities and contradictions of the United States from a time of revolutionary fervor to Hip Hop culture’s most ostentatious decade.
FX’s Dear Mama is both an audio and visual experience. Tupac’s timeless message is undeniable as beats evaporate into soundscapes and his lyrics revealed to be mantras of passion and politics. It eschews strict chronology for a style that slides back and forth in time, finding linkages between mother and son, 1970s and 1990s, black activism and hip hop, that highlight how much has and has not changed in the struggle for human rights. Through this technique, the eras speak to each other and melt time away, shifting the dual narratives into one definitive portrait of a global superstar and the woman who shaped him, forever linked by love and fate.
The premiere episode is titled “Panther Power” and its description reads, “Tupac Shakur navigates school, poverty and family, while dreaming of using poetry and music to spread the message of his mother, noted Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur; haunted by her past, Afeni fears how it will affect Tupac’s promising future.”
“Dear Mama” premieres Friday, April 21 at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on FX.