Almost no TV show, “reality” or otherwise, can survive with only a lead character, no matter how famous that character is.

So what makes R&B singer Keyshia Cole’s BET show more compelling as it enters its second season is that Cole’s mother creates as much dramatic tension as the star herself.

Cole’s mother, Frankie, spent the first season in jail, finishing up a three-year sentence on drug charges. Now Frankie’s out, and while she’s saying the right things, nothing about her life suggests we’re guaranteed a “happily ever after” ending.

Cole, for now, has moved her mother into her Atlanta mansion and is trying to provide the material and emotional support for her to stay clean and sober.

This includes a “no visitors” rule that also applies to her sister Neffie, who has a drinking problem.

Neffie doesn’t like the rule, friction develops, and Cole asks a therapist if she can help her family without debilitating herself.

“Reality” shows live for these kinds of soap-opera scenarios, of course, but this one feels a little more genuine than most.

One long scene has Cole reclining on a couch, asking for a cup of tea and telling her manager not to cancel a couple of magazine photo shoots, just reschedule them. She looks genuinely worn down.

But the greatest dramatic promise here may lie with Frankie, whose life feels as if it’s still up for grabs. She says the right things - about how she has to work to regain the love and trust of people in her life - but one imagines all addicts say that.

The question is whether she will follow through. That battle, the stakes of which go way beyond its TV entertainment value, is a major reason “Keyshia Cole 2,” will be worth return visits.