The Big Picture

The Braxtons reunite to navigate grief in a raw, emotional new chapter.
Trina Braxton shines as the series’ breakout star by sharing her grief authentically.
The show candidly exposes the inner workings of reality TV production, some of which may feel contrived to viewers.

In the follow-up to their hit series, Braxton Family Values, The Braxtons unites one of reality television’s premier families in a manner that hits home and hits hard. Returning to television on We TV, Toni Braxton, Towanda Braxton, Trina Braxton, Tamar Braxton, and Evelyn “Ms. E” Braxton come together in a new light. Following the loss of a key member of their family, Traci Braxton, the series starts off with the women attempting to share that their family is just like any other, experiencing loss and how to cope with it. Divulging heavily into personal traumas, The Braxtons reaches into a deeply dramatic tone, exposing the hardship of disease through grief and mourning. If you’ve never witnessed a loved one experiencing cancer, The Braxtons is your window in. If you’d prefer not to, this won’t be the show for you. Traci Braxton is an integral part of The Braxtons, despite not being physically there, though it feels a bit exploitative in terms of how the series plays into it.

The series may be a continuation of the previous show, but new viewers may not be granted enough backstory to truly understand this next part of the journey. In a way, it would be unfair to not share what has happened in the four years the Braxtons weren’t on television as a family. To do so, The Braxtons relies heavily on personal videos of Traci with her sisters. These flashbacks leave nothing to the imagination, as they are raw and cut deep, and everything presented can be difficult to watch. For this family, it’s a way to celebrate this important woman while revealing the harsh reality that cancer can bring — but perhaps a one-off special could have been sufficient before officially launching this reboot.

The Braxtons (2024) The Braxtons is a new reality TV show set to premiere on August 9, 2024, on WE tv. It marks the return of Toni, Towanda, Trina, Tamar, and their mother Evelyn Braxton, three years after their previous series, Braxton Family Values, ended. The series will follow the family as they navigate new successes, heartbreaks, and ongoing family dynamics, especially dealing with the grief of losing their sister Traci in 2022.Release Date August 9, 2024 Cast Toni Braxton , Tamar Braxton , Towanda Braxton , Trina Braxton , Evelyn Braxton Main Genre Reality Seasons 1

‘The Braxtons’ Are Back and Grieving in Their New Series
Whether you’ve spent seven prior seasons with them or are new to the family, The Braxtons is a celebration of life — but it comes at a cost. Is this the right forum to express grief and loss? For this family, yes. The Braxtons is proof that this group needs each other and, as a family, they’re being forced together to navigate a difficult situation in order to move on. That said, having a film crew follow something innately and immensely personal, like the tragic loss of a loved one, is not an opportunity that anyone watching from home is granted. The Braxtons is excruciatingly vivid while also serving as a new chapter in the lives of the titular family.

Much of the action to kick off the season revolves around the family coming together to discuss the impact of the loss of one of their own. To bridge the gap from Braxton Family Values to The Braxtons, the beginning episodes center around setting up the family with a family grief counselor named Spirit. To say it starts heavy is an understatement, and there’s a lot to get through before the levity that the original show featured can return. The brightness that Braxton Family Values had can eventually return, and it does. Even if the loss feels like the end, the show’s ability to offer the other side of the women’s world is crucial to the storytelling. Getting moments where Trina and Towanda laugh over lunch with their mother requires them to hear Ms. E revealing that she’s seen her daughters hit a wall. To see Ms. E and Tamar’s jovial behind-the-scenes antics while filming their cooking show, Tamar has to admit that perhaps doing group therapy is not the best journey for her. Before witnessing Toni rehearsing for her upcoming Vegas residency, she needs to admit how her personal health struggles may affect them all again.

‘The Braxtons’ Reveals This Family Still Has a Lot to Share

What’s proven in the series is that Traci’s death has united the family, but each of the Braxtons is experiencing the grieving process individually, and dealing with the loss in a variety of ways. It’s one of the most relatable elements of this new series. Some, like Trina and Ms. E, need the opportunity to express their pain openly and honestly. For others, like Tamar, they need to acknowledge the loss and move on. Watching the sisters and their mother come together is beautiful and yet gut-wrenching, seeing them allow this process to get the better of them. Trina admits she is leery of doing the show and is uncertain if they can work together because she felt that she was the only one who wanted to address Traci’s passing. But through the grief counseling, it comes to light that Toni is disconnected from her feelings and doesn’t know what to expect.

The Braxtons’ family grief counseling ends up opening more wounds than anticipated, something that viewers can certainly anticipate will be explored throughout this season. When Ms. E explodes, it’s raw. When Trina shares her struggles with insomnia and over-eating, it’s raw. Even when Toni makes an “Un-Break My Heart” joke, her rawness is paired with her expression of her health difficulties. With loss accompanied by the potential of more loss, The Braxtons gets dark, becoming an experience that viewers need to have an open mind about. It’s one thing to read a news story about what The Braxtons are experiencing; it’s another to witness them going through it.

Trina Braxton is very much our way into The Braxtons. She’s easily the breakout character of this story, allowing viewers to understand where the family stands. She shares her grief in an accessible manner that is not only endearing but also authentic. When she has an emotional yet comedic explosion, sharing her struggles, Trina becomes the glue, bonding the family to the audience. Towanda also becomes a very grounding presence, picking up the pieces as both aunt and surrogate mother for her sister’s son. The two display opposite ends of grief, yet still establish one of the most endearing relationships in the family. With Toni and Tamar, we’re granted insight back into their lives on stage — a new show with Cedric the Entertainer for Toni, a new cooking show for Tamar. Yet Toni’s struggle to be her true superstar self reflects the central story, while Tamar is going through the motions.

The Curtain Is Pulled Back Almost Too Far on ‘The Braxtons’

With The Braxtons, the curtain is completely pulled back. The audience knows that they are there making a television show. Viewers can hear discussions of the inner workings that make the show tick. Scenes are set, entrances are called to action. Producers become key figures at moments. The fourth wall is exposed in a way that other shows would stray away from. Much of The Braxtons acknowledges the filming of the series, and it might be a bit too on the nose. Some suspension of disbelief is why docu-follow reality shows work, but it often feels like the show wants to direct the narrative and edit the emotions viewers are meant to feel.

One of the more peculiar elements of The Braxtons is how Traci’s son, Kevin Surratt Jr., aka Little Kevin, intersects with this story. He’s an important figure and linked back to Traci, but the storyline of his pending divorce appears more contrived alongside the grief counseling session. The big reveal becomes more of a catalyst for drama rather than an integral moment for the grief plot. The timing was just way too convenient. Kevin’s involvement in this show serves as a surrogate for Traci. His journey through grief is multi-tiered, but the way it’s incorporated feels supplementary and messy.

The Braxtons features a lot of difficult moments to watch. If you’re willing to go on this difficult journey, The Braxtons is for you, but if you’re more apprehensive about its harsh realities, put the series on the backburner. Hopefully, this new show will give the family the freedom and healing they need to move on — but continuing to interrupt the story with flashbacks may only weigh down the series when viewers are expecting more of an escape. The Traci Braxton story is an important part of The Braxtons, but at some point, it’s time to write a wholly new chapter for this broken sisterhood.

The Braxtons (2024) The Braxtons sees its titular family navigating grief in an emotionally raw, fourth-wall-breaking new chapter.ProsFans of Braxton Family Values are granted a chance to see their favorite family back on screen.The Braxtons touches on grief in an accessible way.Trina Braxton emerges as the breakout star of the new series. ConsParts of the series feel heavy-handed and overly contrived.The flashbacks of Traci Braxton are raw and can be difficult to watch.

The Braxtons premieres on We TV on Friday, August 9 at 9:30 PM ET. with a special commercial-free event. It will also be available to stream on ALLBLK.

Stream on ALLBLK