VH1 to Bring Back DEAR MAMA in 2017

VH1 announced today it has renewed DEAR MAMA which drew 1.5 million total viewers on Sunday night.* A-listers including host Anthony Anderson, Queen Latifah, Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, Rita Ora, Alicia Keys, Alessia Cara, and Trey, Jaden, and Willow Smith saluted their mothers at the event which was produced by VH1, Flavor Unit and Jesse Collins Entertainment. Surprise performances by Mary J. Blige and Boyz II Men rounded out the show, which drove VH1 to the network's strongest Sunday in almost a year and bested its time period by +132% among adults 18-49.**

VH1 helped fans celebrate motherhood together with honorees including Queen Latifah's mom Rita Owens, Rita Ora's mom Vera Sahatçiu, Alicia Keys' mom Terria Joseph, Alessia Cara's mom Enza Caracciolo and Anthony Anderson's mom Doris Bowman. Jada Pinkett-Smith was toasted by her children Trey, Jaden and Willow along with husband Will Smith who surprised her with a performance from one of her favorite artist, Mary J. Blige. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton introduced gun safety activist Lucy McBath.

Official sponsors of the VH1 "Dear Mama" special event include Marshalls and Post Honey Bunches of Oats®.

In the social sphere, the hashtag #DearMama was in the top #3 in U.S. trends. The campaign reached more than seven million people across Facebook and Instagram with 3.6 million video views. Additionally, across VH1's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, #DearMama posts ranked as the most engaging posts of the past week. Join the conversation on Twitter with @VH1 and @VH1Celebrity using the hashtag #DearMama. For additional updates, 'LIKE' VH1 and VH1 Celebrity on Facebook, or go to DearMama.VH1.com.

"Dear Mama" is produced by Flavor Unit with Shakim Compere and Queen Latifah as Executive Producers along with Jesse Collins Entertainment with Jesse Collins, Rikki Hughes and Jeannae Rouzan as Executive Producers. For VH1, Amy Doyle and Ryan Kroft are Executive Producers, Elena Diaz is Executive in Charge of Talent, Andria Parides is Supervising Producer and Joe Buoye is Executive in Charge of Production.?