Lifetime has released the official trailer for Breathe Again, the latest entry in the network’s ongoing push for emotionally grounded, Black woman–led storytelling. The film stars Toni Braxton, alongside Essence Atkins and Cree Summer, and is set to premiere Saturday, January 24 at 8/7c.
The trailer opens on a moment that sets the tone for the film’s perspective shift. After experiencing heartbreak on a reality dating show, Atkins’ character declares, “We could be the Golden Holla Back Girls,” reframing rejection not as an ending, but as an opening. Rather than retreating from love—or chasing it at all costs—the women choose something more intentional: dating on their own terms, prioritizing self-care, and creating space for joy outside of romantic validation.
That ethos drives Breathe Again, which follows Jennifer (Braxton), Vanessa (Summer), and Evelyn (Atkins) after their very public rejection on national television. What begins as shared humiliation evolves into an unexpected sisterhood, prompting the trio to leave Los Angeles behind and start fresh in Seattle. The move becomes less about reinvention through romance and more about reclaiming agency.
Each woman’s journey unfolds differently. Jennifer begins reconnecting with her voice as an artist. Vanessa works to rebuild her interior design business while cautiously reopening her heart. Evelyn confronts grief head-on, choosing joy and possibility rather than isolation. Together, they discover that while romantic love can be fleeting, friendship can be transformative—and enduring.
The film arrives on the heels of Lifetime’s successful Love of a Lifetime slate, which reached 5.6 million total viewers this past fall, and marks the second project in Braxton’s multi-picture partnership with the network. Breathe Again also reunites the creative team behind Lifetime’s hit He Wasn’t Man Enough, with Braxton, Tanya Lopez, and Kenneth Crear returning as executive producers alongside Howard Braunstein. Stan Brooks reprises his role as director and executive producer.
Breathe Again will anchor Lifetime’s winter lineup, which also includes Terry McMillan’s Tempted 2 Love, premiering January 31 at 8/7c, starring Garcelle Beauvais and Boris Kodjoe, and an extended encore airing of Terry McMillan’s His, Hers and Ours on February 14 at 10/9c.
With Breathe Again, Lifetime continues to lean into stories about resilience, reinvention, and women choosing themselves—and each other—without framing love as an either/or proposition.