The other members of the group, Naomi/Xplicit Lyrics (Brandy) and Valeria/Butter Pecan (Nadine Velazquez), had a sour falling out, with the former toiling away as a solo act — “still chasing the fame that you found 20 years ago,” as she’s told — and the latter having successfully transitioned into morning TV, where her unbridled ambition is on full display.
It’s their manager (Taylor Sele) who suggests getting the band back together as part of a televised event, and the lure of a quick payout is enough to erode the resistance on several fronts. But this is a series, after all, so the reunion won’t end there, with the challenge of mounting a formal comeback and all the soapy doings that go with it.
Produced by “Scandal” alum Zahir McGhee (who wrote the pilot) and directed by Tim Story, “Queens” appears to be in pretty good hands on that score, even if the content and actually-not-that-explicit lyrics can only be as nasty as ABC’s standards will allow. The show also figures to get a boost, in old-fashioned TV scheduling terms, from having “The Bachelorette” as its opening act.
For now, “Queens” has done an admirable job assembling the pieces. Keeping them from flaming out the way that the show’s fictional group did could be another matter.
“Queens” premieres Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.