How to Watch Janet Jackson’s Documentary for Free Online

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Janet Jackson’s highly anticipated documentary arrives on Friday (Jan. 28).

Part one of the Janet documentary debuts on Lifetime and A&E  at 8 p.m. ET. The second portion of the documentary will premiere the following night at the same time.

Jackson granted exclusive access to never-before-seen home videos and archival footage for the documentary, which covers her life and career from childhood through superstardom and touches on controversial moments like the 2014 Super Bowl halftime show. Producers Workerbee filmed three years’ worth of footage to make the film.

Mariah Carey, Missy Elliott, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King, Tyler Perry, Samuel L. Jackson, Janelle Monáe, Ciara, Teyana Taylor, Paula Abdul and Q-Tip make appearances in the documentary along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jackson’s longtime producing partners. The superstar’s family members including her beloved mother, Katherine Jackson, also appear in the two-part special.

Jackson has been notoriously quiet about her private life, but Janet lifts the veil on some of her intimate moments. “It’s just something that needs to be done,” the 55-year-old icon explains in the film’s trailer.

The release of Janet coincides with the 40th anniversary of Jackson’s self-titled debut album. In promotion of the documentary, the usually media-shy Jackson is scheduled to appear on The Real and The Kelly Clarkson Show this week.

How to Watch Janet Jackson‘s Documentary for Free Online 

If you already have cable, Janet will be streaming online via the Lifetime and A&E apps, which can be found in the App Store and on Google Play.

For those who don’t have cable, streaming is the best way to catch the documentary online. Luckily, there are a few ways to watch without spending extra money up front. For example, Sling TV and Philo offer decent streaming packages for under $40.

Sling TV’s Orange and Blue streaming package are priced at $35 a month after a free tree-day trial. The Orange tier is streamable from only one device but it comes with 32 channels, including Lifetime, A&E, Bravo, MTV, BET, VH1, E!, Freeform, TLC and VICE. Sling’s Blue tier features 42 channels, and you can stream from up to three devices. Sling TV also offers a combination of both tiers for $50 a month. All three Sling TV packages include 50 hours of DVR storage.

At $25 a month, Philo is one of the most affordable streaming platforms for live TV. The service features over 60 channels (Lifetime, MTV, BET, TLC, VH1, CMT, WEtv, A&E, ID, Trvl Channel, OWN, AMC, Comedy Central and more) that you can watch live or stream on demand. The subscription comes with a free seven-day trial and unlimited DVR that can be stored for up to a year.

Vidgo starts at $55 a month (after a weeklong free trial) for the English Plush package, which has over 95 channels. There’s also a Spanish Mas package for $30 a month and the English Premium Package at $80 a month for more than 112 channels.

Although Hulu + Live TV ($69.99 a month) doesn’t come with a free trial, the service is great for live television. The membership gives you access to the Hulu streaming library and over 75 live channels, plus Disney+ and ESPN+.

Similarly, Direct TV Stream starts at $70 per month with no free trial, but the streaming packages include tons of live channels, on-demand access, DVR storage and three months free of Epix, Showtime, STARZ and HBO Max, depending on which plan you choose.