Lifetime Ciera Payton as Wendy Williams in Wendy Williams: The Movie
The latest made-for-TV biopic is Wendy Williams: The Movie, premiering Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime, followed immediately by a documentary about Wendy Williams.
If you don’t have cable, here’s how you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live or on-demand online for free:
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Philo TV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 60 other TV channels on Philo TV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for Philo, you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live on the Philo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast (compatible on Android mobile), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer on the Philo website.
If you can’t watch live, Philo comes with DVR, so you can record any airings of the movie and watch it later. And even if you don’t DVR it, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which lets you to watch most shows and movies on-demand if they have aired in the last three days.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with cloud DVR space, so you can record any future airings and watch the movie whenever you want. It also comes with a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most shows and movies 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 Lifetime and 40-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” or “Sling Orange” bundle. Plus, you can get $10 off your first month, and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, 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 10 hours of cloud DVR, so you can record any future airings and watch the movie whenever you want.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, 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 includes most shows and movies after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage, so you can record any future airings and watch the movie whenever you want.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which you can try with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch Wendy Williams: The Movie live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
‘Wendy Williams: The Movie’ Preview
Wendy Williams: The Movie stars Ciera Payton as Wendy Williams, the popular talk show host who has experienced many emotional struggles throughout her lifem, and Morocco Omari stars as Williams’ ex-husband Kevin Hunter. Williams herself executive producers the biopic, which aims to reveal “the highs and lows she has experienced throughout the years.”
The description from the Lifetime press release reads, “Wendy has made herself the go-to source for great celebrity dish on her hit talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, but recently the spotlight has turned towards her. The authorized project provides a revealing look at Wendy’s journey, from her scrappy upstart days in urban radio to the success of her own syndicated talk show. Despite all the naysayers and obstacles Wendy encountered throughout her life, her strength and determination have allowed her to thrive.”
In a recent interview with Forbes, Williams said the hardest part about executive producing a biopic about herself was trying to fit everything in that she thought was important to show.
“It’s hard to narrow [it] down. You know my career is over 35 years as a paid personality and I take that very seriously,” said Williams. “There are little things and big things that needed to be incorporated in this movie in order for it to all make sense – to explain who the girl is that is still coming through the double doors, [hosting] her own talk show.”
She also told Forbes that she does not shy away from dramatizing her sexual assault. Williams said she was date raped two different times, one by an R&B singer named Sherrick and one other time in college. She said it was actually nice to put some distance between herself and those events.
“I had a lot of fun doing this movie because it almost didn’t even seem like I was talking about me. [At times] I [sat] back and said, ‘I can’t believe I survived that!’” said Williams.
Wendy Williams: The Movie premieres Saturday, January 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime, followed immediately by The Wendy Williams Story… What a Mess!, a feature-length documentary about Williams’ life.