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In real life, Black civil rights pioneers Martin Luther King and Malcolm X met only once, briefly, in Washington, D.C., in 1964 as both attended a Senate debate.

And the trailer for Disney’s Genius: MLK/X docuseries, which dropped Thursday, opens with that chance Capitol Hill encounter that foreshadowed their dueling movements and personalities.

“We meet at last,” Malcolm X declares as the two black leaders shake hands, while in those years from the church pulpit, prison cells and elsewhere they worked to advance racial equality with competing movements: King favoring nonviolent activism as part of his civil rights struggle, and Muslim leader Malcolm X opting for Black empowerment and self-determination to battle against white supremacy.

Ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Disney plans two episodes to bow weekly on National Geographic from Feb. 1, and to then stream on Disney+ and Hulu the day after.

The eight-part...

Exclusive: Entertainment veterans Elisabeth Rohm and Kara Feifer have partnered to launch Rohm Feifer Entertainment, a film and television production company that will look to tell inspirational, female-forward stories steeped in true crime and true narratives that resonate with audiences of all kinds.

Already, the company with offices in L.A. and New York has made a deal with Village Roadshow Television to develop the series I Will Be Good, inspired by Bryan Smith’s article for Chicago magazine. Written by Karen Croner, it will tell the story of a $53 million bamboozle: how Rita Crundwell, the trusted comptroller of the small Illinois town of Dixon, pulled off the biggest municipal embezzlement in U.S. history to date without anyone noticing. The project will be executive produced by Meryl Poster.

Rohm and Feifer are also taking an IP-based procedural out to market this year, led by Ed Bernero (Criminal Minds), based...

The series premieres on February 2 on Disney+ and Hulu.

National Geographic has released the first look at its upcoming season of the anthology series ‘Genius’, which will focus on the lives and legacies of two of the most influential civil rights leaders in American history: Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X.

The series, titled ‘Genius: MLK/X’, will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of both men, who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s and shaped the movement for racial equality and justice.

The series will feature Kelvin Harrison Jr (‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’) as King, Aaron Pierre (‘The Underground Railroad’) as X, Weruche Opia (‘I May Destroy You’) as Coretta Scott King, and Jayme Lawson (‘The Batman’) as Betty Shabazz. The cast also includes Ron Cephas Jones (‘This is Us’), who passed away in August 2023, in one of his last roles.

“Genius: MLK/X” has set its premiere date at Nat Geo, the network announced Wednesday.

The first two episodes of the eight-episode fourth season of “Genius” will premiere on Feb. 1 on Nat Geo and will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Two episodes will then drop weekly thereafter on all platforms. The announcement was made by Carolyn Bernstein, Nat Geo’s executive vice president of scripted and documentary films, as part of Nat Geo’s content showcase at Hall des Lumières.

Unlike past seasons, this season of “Genius” will tell the story of two geniuses — Civil Rights Movement leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. A behind-the-scenes first look at the season can be seen below.

The official description of the season states it will follow “both King and X from their formative years, where they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices, to their rich,...

Exclusive: Disney+ and National Geographic have set the remaining cast for Genius: MLK/X, the fourth installment in the anthology series. Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us), Gary Carr (The Peripheral) and Hubert Point-Du Jour (The Good Lord Bird) are set as series regulars opposite previously announced Kelvin Harrison Jr., Aaron Pierre, Weruche Opia and Jayme Lawson. Lennie James (The Walking Dead), LisaGay Hamilton (Lincoln Lawyer), Ashley Romans (Y: The Last Man), Donal Logue (Departure) and Griffin Matthews (The Flight Attendant) recur in the series, which will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Pierre).

Genius: MLK/X, the first installment of Nat Geo’s series to stream as a Disney+ original, will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Pierre). While King advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest,...

Disney+ and National Geographic’s anthology series has found the ensemble cast of its upcoming “Genius: MLK/X.” Portraying the pioneering leaders of the Civil Rights Movement are Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre (“The Underground Railroad”) as Malcolm X, Weruche Opia (“I May Destroy You”) as Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson (“The Batman”) as Betty Shabazz.

Principal photography will begin next month in Atlanta.

“We are beyond excited to have put together the incredible foursome of Kelvin, Aaron, Jayme and Weruche to bring the depth, complexity, and humanity to these indelible icons,” executive producers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood said in a statement. “They are all next level in their chops and their passion to tell this story.”

As previously announced, in a first for the franchise, Season 4 of the Emmy-winning show will center on two iconic geniuses: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

‘MLK/X,’ the fourth installment of Disney+ and National Geographic’s period drama anthology series ‘Genius,’ has set its lead cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre will play Malcolm X, Weruche Opia will play Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson will play Betty Shabazz.

Harrison is best known for “It Comes at Night,” “Waves” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Pierre has starred in “The Underground Railroad” and “Old.” Opia’s credits include “I May Destroy You,” while Lawson has appeared in “The Batman,” “The First Lady” and “The Woman King.”

Additionally, Channing Godfrey Peoples has been set as the director of the pilot and will co-executive produce the season.

Harrison Jr. is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano Law Firm and Presse PR. Pierre is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell, Sloane Offer Weber & Dern and Narrative.

Exclusive: Disney+ and National Geographic have set the lead cast for Genius: MLK/X, the fourth installment in the anthology series, which will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. (The Trial of the Chicago 7) will star as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad) as Malcolm X, Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You) as Coretta Scott King, and Jayme Lawson (The Batman) as Betty Shabazz. Channing Godfrey Peoples (Miss Juneteenth) will direct the pilot episode and will serve as co-executive producer on Genius: MLK/X.

Several historians and experts had come on board as production consultants prior to the start of the writers room to guide the narrative. Principal photography on the series, from 20th Television, Imagine Television and Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Undisputed Cinema, will begin in October in Atlanta.

Genius: MLK/X, the first...

“Genius” Season 4 will now focus on both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

When the fourth season was originally announced in December 2020, it was reported that it would solely focus on King. In addition, Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood have joined the season as executive producers via their Undisputed Cinema production company, while Raphael Jackson, Jr. and Damione Macedon (“The Mosquito Coast”) will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Jeff Stetson is now attached to write the pilot.

“Malcolm and Martin are staggering icons, and we have been eager to explore the genius of these two very real men in a way that has not yet been seen,” said the Bythewoods. “We are excited to team up with Imagine Entertainment and 20th Television to reflect their amazing lives and contributions to civil rights and the urgency of today.”

“Genius: MLK/X” will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments,...

At Disney’s Investor Day in December 2020, Nat Geo revealed that season four of its anthology series Genius would focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The series, which is moving to Disney+ for its fourth iteration, will also now be focused on Malcolm X.

Genius: MLK/X will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of the pair. While King advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest, Malcolm X argued forcefully for Black empowerment, identity and self-determination. With their formidable wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, by their sides, King and Malcolm X became synonymous with the civil rights era and the fight for racial and economic justice. While they met only once and often challenged each other’s views, neither would have been as successful without the other.

King and Malcolm X’s only meeting was at the U.S. Capitol on...

The recently-launched Strong Studios has acquired rights to Alec Sokolow’s script The Tank Job, setting the Oscar nominee as the film’s director.

The Ballantyne Strong, Inc. subsidiary’s first original feature film adapts Norman Miller’s book, The Great Salad Oil Swindle. It’s a true-life crime drama that watches as ex-butcher turned salad oil exporter Anthony “Tino” DeAngelis and his Bayonne, New Jersey blue collar crew nearly destroy American Express and eventually crash Wall Street in their bid to corner the market on salad oil futures in the early 1960s.

Award-winning business journalist, CNBC contributor, author and former hedge fund manager Ron Insana, who heads up Insana Entertainment Group as CEO, brought the idea for The Tank Job to Ballantyne Chairman Kyle Cerminara in January of last year, and they have been collaborating on it ever since. Cerminara and Insana are former colleagues, having worked together in...

Exclusive: The story of the real-life 1988 protests at all-deaf Gallaudet University that became a watershed moment for the deaf community in the U.S. is being turned into a feature film. Jules Dameron, a Gallaudet alum, wrote and will direct Deaf President Now, which is now casting and aims to begin production later this year.

Sam Sokolow (Nat Geo’s Genius) and Steven Posen are producing the pic along with PhilmCo’s Jonathan Prince and Peter Samuelson. Amy Lanier and Bruce Daitch are executive producing. The team said it is committed to a mixed Asl/English-language production. “We intend this to be the first mainstream film to be fully integrated with a deaf-oriented crew and set,” Posen said.

Posen originated the project with Dameron to tell the story behind the uprising at the Washington DC university, at the time the only all-deaf college in the U.S. The student-led protests...

Mike Medavoy, CEO of Phoenix Pictures, is partnering with Mariel Hemingway and producer Sam Sokolow on a limited series about the life and times of Ernest Hemingway, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

The series will explore the famous writer’s life as often fictionalized in classic novels like “A Farewell to Arms” and “The Sun Also Rises,” and will also delve into the unexplored psychological trauma that haunted him until he took his own life in 1961.

Stephen Leeds and Mark Chambers penned the pilot script and will also executive produce the project, which is not yet set up at a network or streamer.

“Hemingway was a genius, a soldier, a spy, a revolutionary, and counter to legend, one of the most sensitive writers of his era.” Medavoy said. “He won both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize for Literature, medals for bravery in both World Wars, and even survived two plane crashes in one day.

R-e-s-p-e-c-t for National Geographic, which set the premiere date for “Genius: Aretha” Tuesday and dropped the trailer for the pandemic-delayed season of the anthology, which stars Cynthia Erivo in the title role.

In the trailer, which you can view above, Erivo’s Aretha Franklin is crowned the “Queen of Soul” and spends much of the two-minute video trying to maintain hold of that title while others set out to bring her down.

Nat Geo revealed Tuesday during its day at the virtual Television Critics Association press tour that “Genius: Aretha,” which has suffered multiple production delays over the last year due to Covid-19, will air as a four-night event series beginning Sunday, March 21, at 9/8c. The eight episodes of the season will air in pairs of two, with all available to stream on Hulu by Thursday, March 25.

“Genius: Aretha” will explore “Aretha Franklin’s musical genius and incomparable career, as...

Actress Cynthia Erivo dropped new key art on her Instagram page today for the upcoming season of National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha. Erivo, who stars in the eight-part limited series as the Queen of Soul, released the poster on her birthday to commemorate the life of the legendary singer.

“Today is my birthday and I couldn’t be prouder of the chance to tell the story of the Queen of Soul,” Erivo wrote. “She sang the songs for the feelings our hearts couldn’t find the words for. She told stories with the melodies she weaved and was unafraid to speak truth to power.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cynthia Erivo (@cynthiaerivo)

The third season of Genius will explore the late Aretha Franklin’s musical genius and career, as well as the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she had on music and culture around the world.

Martin Luther King Jr. will be profiled in the upcoming fourth season of National Geographic’s “Genius.”

National Geographic exec Courteney Monroe announced the programming move Thursday during the Walt Disney Company’s investor relations day presentation. Monroe also revealed that, beginning with Season 4, “Genius” would be available exclusively on Disney Plus. Seasons 1 and 2 premiered on the National Geographic cable channel and are currently available to stream on Disney Plus. Season 3 is also set to debut on the National Geographic Channel.

Previous seasons of “Genius” have profiled Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso. The third and upcoming season will see actor Cynthia Erivo playing singer Aretha Franklin.

“Genius: Aretha” is produced by National Geographic, Imagine Television, and Fox 21 Television. Imagine has partnered with Warner Music Entertainment on the season. Along with Parks and Hemingway, executive producers on the season are Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Francie Calfo, record producer...

Exclusive: BBC Studios is working with U.S. outfits Nice Media Studios and Windowseat Pictures to develop Cj Tudor’s novel The Chalk Man into a six-part TV series.

BBC Studios has attached The Boy With The Top Knot and Single Father writer Mick Ford to adapt the Sunday Times bestseller. The project is housed with BBC Studios’ drama team in the north of England, which is currently making Sean Bean and Stephen Graham series Time.

The Chalk Man tells the story of five 1990s school students who, inspired by a teacher, start leaving each other secret messages in chalk. But the fun is halted when the chalk drawings lead them to the dead body of a 17-year-old girl. Fast forward 30 years and one of the boys, Eddie, receives a stick of chalk and drawing in the post, forcing the chalk men to face their haunting memories all over again.

Exclusive: Sony Pictures Television has acquired the rights to David Henry Sterry’s memoir Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Roller Skates & Chippendales, to develop as a series. Emmy-nominated Gordon Smith is set to pen the series adaptation and showrun the project for Spt, where he is under an overall deal.

The memoir of Sterry’s time as the Mc at the world-famous male strip club is a window into the girls-just-want-to-have-fun, greed-is-good, party-all-the time, coked-up world of 1980’s America through the eyes of Manhattan’s hottest show: Chippendales, where women rule the roost and men get rich and famous (or infamous).

Smith’s adaptation will be a semi-fictionalized premium television series based on a true, grabbed from the headlines, fall of Rome story that starts in the epicenter of the decadent, deregulated, 80s America: New York City. The club turns a...

The third installment of National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series, subtitled “Aretha” for its subject Aretha Franklin, has been delayed due to the novel coronavirus halting production.

Originally, “Genius: Aretha” was set to premiere on Memorial Day, but the limited series starring Cynthia Erivo in the titular role was still in production when concerns about the pandemic caused shutdowns across the country. With production still suspended, the network sent out a statement saying that “it has become clear that the series will not be completed in time for our previously announced Memorial Day airdate.”

Although the new premiere date is still to be announced, this likely means the show will also be unable to compete in the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards this September, as the eligibility deadline is May 31, 2020, with hanging episodes bleeding over into June.

“We look forward to resuming work as soon as is possible and safe,...

T.I. is set to recur on Genius: Aretha, the next installment of Nat Geo’s popular anthology from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios that stars Cynthia Erivo as the Queen of Soul.

Antonique Smith and Tina Fears also have joined the project as recurring, while Ethan Henry is set to guest star as Mlk, Jr. Most of the castings happened just before Genius: Aretha, like every other TV series and movies in production, shut down a week and a half ago over the escalating coronavirus-related health crisis.

More from DeadlineCoronavirus: Disney TV Studios Shuts Down Production On 'Genius: Aretha', Postpones Filming On All PilotsNat Geo's 'Genius: Aretha' Team Unpacks The Genius Of The Legendary Singer - TCA'Genius: Aretha': Nat Geo Series Adds Seven To Cast

Additionally, on what would’ve been Aretha Franklin’s 78th birthday today, March 25, Nat Geo released a new image from the show featuring Erivo as the music legend.

National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios will release a first-look, national teaser promo for Genius: Aretha during this Sunday’s Oscars telecast airing on ABC, a sister network of NatGeo, which is also owned by Disney.

Cynthia Erivo, a 2020 Academy Awards nominee, stars as Aretha Franklin in the third season of the global anthology series. Set to perform Stand Up live during the Oscars, Erivo is nominated in two categories: Actress in a Leading Role and Music (Original Song) for the film Harriet.

Genius: Aretha will premiere over four consecutive nights, beginning Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, at 9/8c. The series will be the first authorized scripted limited series on the life of Aretha Franklin. The eight-part series will explore Franklin’s musical genius and career, and the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she has had on music and culture around the world.

The cast includes Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin; Courtney B. Vance (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) as C.L. Franklin; David Cross as Jerry Wexler; Malcolm Barrett as Ted White; Pauletta Washington (She’s Gotta Have It) as Grandmother Rachel; Patrice Covington (Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Erma Franklin; Rebecca Naomi Jones (The Big Sick) as Carolyn Franklin; Steven Norfleet (Watchmen) as Cecil Franklin; Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Vice Principals) as Ruth Bowen; Omar J. Dorsey (Queen Sugar) as James Cleveland; Marque Richardson (Dear White People) as King Curtis; and introducing Shaian Jordan as Little Re.

Imagine is partnering with Warner Music Entertainment for this third season, which will again be executive produced by Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Suzan-Lori Parks is showrunner and executive producer, and Anthony Hemingway is executive producer and producing director for the season.

Record producer Clive Davis and Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman have also joined as executive producers. Returning executive producers include Francie Calfo, Ken Biller, Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane (Mwm Studios), and Sam Sokolow (Eue/Sokolow). In addition, Imagine’s Anna Culp serves as producer alongside Peter Afterman.

Exclusive: Nat Geo is rounding out its cast for Genius: Aretha, the next installment of its popular anthology from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios that stars Cynthia Erivo as the Queen of Soul.

Newcomer Shaian Jordan is set as a series regular in a recasting. Additionally, Dear White People‘s Marque Richardson, Pauletta Washington (She’s Gotta Have It), Steven Norfleet (Watchmen) and Queen Sugar star Omar J. Dorsey have been cast in recurring roles. They join Erivo and previously announced cast Courtney B. Vance, Malcolm Barrett, Patrice Covington, Kimberly Hébert Gregory and Rebecca Naomi Jones. Anthony Hemingway executive produces and directs the pilot episode.

Billed as the first, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series on Franklin’s life, Genius: Aretha is slated for a spring premiere on National Geographic channels in 172 countries and 43 languages.

Jordan will play Little Re, replacing Sanai Victoria who played the role in the pilot.

Cynthia Erivo is transformed into the late, great Queen of Soul in a first-look photo from Genius: Aretha, the upcoming biographical series from National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios.

See the photo below.

Erivo, a Tony Award winner for Broadway’s 2015 The Color Purple and the star of this year’s Harriet Tubman biopic Harriet, will play Aretha Franklin in the third installment of the series (following seasons devoted to Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso).

“Over the last few months,” said Erivo, “I’ve been preparing myself to embody the Queen of Soul, from relistening to her music to discovering her rare interviews and reading some amazing books on her — all to really capture Aretha’s attitude and spirit. I’m truly humbled to be working alongside a very talented and musical team. Together, we’ll serve the Queen and create something special.”

Also featured in the cast are...

David Cross has joined the cast of the upcoming third season of “Genius” at Nat Geo, which will focus on music legend Aretha Franklin.

Cross will star as music producer Jerry Wexler. Cynthia Erivo is set to play Franklin, with Courtney B. Vance, Malcolm Barrett, Patrice Covington, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Sanai Victoria also set to star in the eight-episode season.

Cross’ Wexler is described as a scrappy, Bronx-born legendary producer who is one of the first to spot Franklin’s incredible talent and potential. He’s a street savvy music man with great ears who isn’t afraid to go into segregated clubs to find talented performers like Ray Charles and Wilson Pickett. He even coined the term “rhythm and blues.” He poached Franklin from Columbia to Atlantic Records and works with her from 1966-79 during which time she records some of her most iconic hits.

Courtney B. Vance, an Emmy winner for his performance as Johnnie Cochran in FX’s The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is set to star opposite Cynthia Erivo in Genius: Aretha, the next installment of Nat Geo’s popular anthology series, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios.

Billed as the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of Franklin, Genius: Aretha will begin production in December for a spring 2020 premiere on National Geographic channels in 172 countries and 43 languages.

Vance joins as Aretha’s (Erivo) father, C.L. Franklin, an influential reverend and civil rights activist known as the “Million Dollar Voice.” A star in his own right, C.L.’s legendary sermons were published and sold in record stores and broadcast on a weekly radio show, and he booked national ministry tours and public appearances. C.L. had a close but fraught relationship...

Courtney B. Vance has joined the cast of the upcoming third season of “Genius” at Nat Geo, which will focus on Aretha Franklin.

Vance will star as Aretha’s father C.L. Franklin. Cynthia Erivo is set to play Aretha, with Malcolm Barrett, Patrice Covington, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Sanai Victoria also set to star in the eight-episode season. Suzan-Lori Parks serves as showrunner and executive producer with Anthony Hemingway executive producing and directing. The season is slated to debut in the spring.

C.L. Franklin is described as an influential reverend and civil rights activist known as the “Million Dollar Voice.” A star in his own right, C.L.’s legendary sermons were published and sold in record stores and broadcast on a weekly radio show, and he booked national ministry tours and public appearances. C.L. had a close but fraught relationship with his daughter and supported her throughout her career,...

Exclusive: Malcolm Barrett, Patrice Covington (The Color Purple), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Vice Principals), Rebecca Naomi Jones (The Big Sick) and Sanai Victoria (Black-ish) are set to co-star opposite Cynthia Erivo in Genius: Aretha, the next installment of Nat Geo’s popular anthology series, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios. Additionally, Anthony Hemingway has been tapped to executive produce and direct the pilot episode.

Billed as the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of Franklin, Genius: Aretha will begin production in December for a spring 2020 premiere on National Geographic channels in 172 countries and 43 languages.

Barrett will play Ted White, Aretha’s (Erivo) first husband and business manager, who develops relationships with songwriters and producers and picks some of her biggest hits. But as Aretha gains fame, White’s heavy drinking and volatile behavior ends their marriage.

Nat Geo’s “Genius” just got infused with a lot more soul. Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo is set to play the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin in the latest installment of the Emmy Award-winning anthology series.

Billed as “the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series” on Franklin’s life, “Genius: Aretha” will feature a combination of archival footage of Franklin’s real-life performances (including songs like “I Knew You Were Waiting for Me” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”) and Erivo performing songs from Franklin’s music catalogue. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (“Topdog/Underdog”) will serve as showrunner and executive producer of this season. Clive Davis and Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman are set to executive produce alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Francie Calfo, “Genius” co-developer Ken Biller, Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane (Mwm Studios), Sam Sokolow...

Production to begin in November.

Cynthia Erivo, earning acclaim for her lead role in Harriet this awards season, will play Aretha Franklin in the next instalment of National Geographic’s Genius anthology series.

Production is scheduled to begin in November for a spring 2020 world premiere on National Geographic’s global channels.

National Geographic, Imagine Television Studios and Fox 21 Television Studios said on Thursday (3) the production is the only authorised scripted limited series on the life of the Queen of Soul.

The production will feature many of Franklin’s biggest hits from the Warner Music catalogue, including I Never Loved...

National Geographic has found its Aretha Franklin for its upcoming season of “Genius” about the Queen of Soul: Cynthia Erivo has been cast in the title role.

“Aretha Franklin has been a source of inspiration for me since I was a little girl,” said Erivo. “Her strength, passion and soul are evident in her everlasting legacy, not only as a transcendent artist, but as a humanitarian and civil rights icon. To have the opportunity to bring her legacy to life and show the fullness of her being, her humanity and brilliance, is an honor. What I know and have learned about what my voice, as an artist, can do and the power in it has been highly influenced by Franklin. I feel privileged and excited to be a part of the sharing of her genius.”

The upcoming season, entitled “Genius: Aretha,” will be the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted...

Nat Geo and Imagine have found their Queen of Soul. Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning artist and actress Cynthia Erivo has been tapped to star as Aretha Franklin in the next installment of Nat Geo’s Emmy-winning global anthology series Genius: Aretha, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios.

Billed as the first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of Franklin, Genius: Aretha will begin filming in November for a spring 2020 premiere on National Geographic channels in 172 countries and 43 languages.

As previously announced, Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog, will be executive producer and showrunner of the series. Music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman also executive produce.

“Aretha Franklin has been a source of inspiration for me since I was a little girl,” said Erivo. “Her strength, passion and...

Nat Geo has found its Queen of Soul. Cynthia Erivo will portray Aretha Franklin on the next season of its historical anthology “Genius,” the network announced on Thursday.

Filming will start in November for a spring 2020 premiere.

“Aretha Franklin has been a source of inspiration for me since I was a little girl,” Erivo said. “Her strength, passion and soul are evident in her everlasting legacy, not only as a transcendent artist, but as a humanitarian and civil rights icon. To have the opportunity to bring her legacy to life and show the fullness of her being, her humanity and brilliance, is an honor. What I know and have learned about what my voice, as an artist, can do and the power in it has been highly influenced by Franklin. I feel privileged and excited to be a part of the sharing of her genius.”

Also Read: Nat Geo 'Not...

Exclusive: Internationally bestselling author Amy Ephron is turning her soon-to-be-released book, The Other Side of the Wall, into a live-action feature film. Ephron has teamed with Oscar-nominated Toy Story screenwriter Alec Sokolow to adapt the screenplay. Ephron and Sokolow will also produce the pic with Nice Media Studios’ Sam Sokolow, the two-time Emmy nominated executive producer of the National Geographic series, Genius.

The Other Side of the Wall, set to be released October 15 via Philomel Books, is the third book in Ephron’s The Other Side series following The Castle in the Mist and Carnival Magic. Set in London at Christmastime, the story follows the adventures of Tess and her younger brother Max, as they navigate magical hidden worlds around England.

“It feels like a present to me,” said Ephron, “to work with the multi-talented, insightful Alec Sokolow and the razor-sharp, distinguished Sam Sokolow on a live-action version of Tess and Max’s story.

Nat Geo is “not moving forward” with its planned “Genius” season on “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley, the network’s president Courteney Monroe said on Tuesday.

“We were super excited about Mary Shelley,” Monroe said during the network’s TCA presentation. “The fact is that we just couldn’t find a way to crack it creatively.” Nat Geo had initially slotted Shelley for season 3, before fast-tracking a season about Franklin shortly after her death last summer. At that time, the network was hopeful to do both.

“Our feeling was if we couldn’t do it in a really excellent way, if couldn’t do it right, then we shouldn’t do it,” Monroe continued. “We really tried, we just couldn’t crack it for a limited series.”

Also Read: James Cameron Teams With Nat Geo on Ocean Exploration Series 'Mission OceanX'

The season based on Franklin will premiere in 2020. It follows...

Exclusive: The Estate of Aretha Franklin has joined Genius: Aretha, the third installment of National Geographic’s Genius scripted anthology series. Sabrina Owens, representative of The Estate, will serve as a producer on the series.

It was announced at TCA in February that the upcoming season of Genius would be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.

Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize award-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog, will be executive producer and showrunner of the series, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios. Music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman also executive produce.

The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16, 2018 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered...

MGM Television is teaming with Emmy-nominated creator/showrunners Will Scheffer and Mark V. Olsen to adapt T.C. Boyle’s Pen/Faulkner Award winning, landmark immigration-themed novel The Tortilla Curtain as a premium series, from HertzbergMedia and Nice Media Studios.

Written by Scheffer and Olsen, Tortilla Curtain the series is a darkly comedic look at immigration through the lens of a liberal white couple living in an upscale housing development atop Topanga Canyon and the undocumented Mexican couple living in the ravine below. Their lives become forever enmeshed when the white man hits the Mexican man with his car and flees the scene.

HertzbergMedia’s Alex Hertzberg and Nice Media Studio’s Sam Sokolow will executive produce.

MGM Television will produce the series and will supervise the writing of the Tortilla Curtain pilot in-house. MGM will internationally distribute. Lindsay Sloane, MGM’s Senior Evp,...

It’s official — the upcoming third season of National Geographic’s scripted anthology series Genius will be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76. The announcement was made Sunday at TCA.

Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize award-winning playwright of Topdog/Underdog, will be executive producer and showrunner of the project, from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios. Music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman also executive produce.

Genius was renewed for a third season in April, with author Mary Shelley revealed as its subject, to follow Albert Einstein and Picasso. The Mary Shelley story remains in consideration for future installments of the anthology series.

The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since,...

National Geographic has tapped playwright Suzan-Lori Parks as writer and showrunner of the Aretha Franklin-focused third season of the scripted anthology “Genius,” the network announced on Sunday.

The series, based on the life and career of the late Queen of Soul, is set to begin filming this summer for a 2020 premiere. It follows two previous seasons starring Geoffrey Rush as Albert Einstein and Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso, marking the first time the series will center on a woman. A previously announced season focusing on “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley remains in development.

Parks, who took home a Pulitzer for her play “Topdog/Underdog,” will be joined by record producer Clive Davis and Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman as executive producers. Warner Music Group has joined Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Entertainment to produce the third season.

Also Read: 'Genius': Nat Geo May Make Aretha Franklin the...

A possible third season of National Geographic’s anthology series Genius devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is taking a major step towards becoming a reality.

I have learned that music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis is expected to join the Imagine TV/Fox 21 TV Studios project as executive producer.

The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered the one key element that would clinch a green light. Bringing David on board is considered very important in that aspect.

Davis, currently chief creative officer for Sony Music Entertainment, worked with Franklin for decades. He spoke at the singer’s funeral and has been organizing a big Aretha Franklin tribute concert.

Genius was renewed for a third season in April,...

Genius! National Geographic Channel wants to fast-track an Aretha Franklin season of Fox and Imagine’s docu-drama “Genius,” an insider with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap. Ideally, the parties hope to use the Queen of Soul’s installment as the anthology series’ upcoming Season 3.

Back in April, Nat Geo said “Genius” Season 3 would focus on “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. It’s possible that Shelley could still be the third season’s subject, the insider tells us, with Franklin profiled after. The network wants both Franklin and Shelley to happen — it would just be preferable to all parties for Franklin’s run to air first, as she just passed away in August at age 76.

During her career, Franklin won 18 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 1994. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fox 21 Television Studios, which produces the show with Imagine TV,...

Exclusive: The upcoming third season of National Geographic’s scripted anthology series Genius may be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.

Genius, which comes from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios, was renewed for a third season in April, with author Mary Shelley revealed as its subject, to follow Albert Einstein and Picasso. I hear that installment remains in development.

I hear the idea for doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly and was spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. While sources close to the matter caution that there are still hurdles in securing all the rights necessary, I hear that everyone involved feels optimistic, and they are moving full-steam ahead with a potential Aretha Franklin third season while deals are being hammered out.

Imagine has done multiple projects about iconic music artists, including the award-winning documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years,...

In today’s film news roundup, teen drama “Sadie” gets a release, “Younger” star Molly Bernard and a comedy about Chuck Taylor sneakers is in the works.

Release Date

Filmmaker Megan Griffiths and producers Lacey Leavitt and Jennessa West will independently release their drama “Sadie” starting with openings on Oct. 12 in Los Angeles and New York.

“Sadie,” which debuted at SXSW and won the Gryphon Jury Award at the 2018 Giffoni Film Festival, centers on a 13-year-old girl, played by Sophia Mitri Schloss, whose behavior worsens due to a fierce affection for her faraway father, a solider she hasn’t seen during the several years he has pulled multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Joe Leydon said in his SXSW review for Variety, “Equal parts coming-of-age story and slow-burn thriller, writer-director Megan Griffiths’ quietly absorbing and methodically disquieting drama is a genuine rarity.”

Melanie Lynskey stars as the mother along with John Gallagher Jr.,...

National Geographic has renewed scripted anthology series Genius for a third season and has revealed that iconic author Mary Shelley, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, will be its subject. The network made the announcement at the conclusion of its upfront Wednesday in New York City.

Mary Shelley will follow brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, who was at the center of Season 1, and famous artist Pablo Picasso, who was the subject of Season 2. Like with the previous seasons, Nat Geo and Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television are expected to go after big names for the lead — Geoffrey Rush played Einstein, and Antonio Banderas portrayed Picasso. The Season 3 renewal comes a week ahead of the April 24 premiere of Genius: Picasso.

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, Evp, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks.

Brilliant: Nat Geo just unveiled the subject for its third season of “Genius,” Mary Shelley.

The first woman genius to be chronicled by the cable channel’s scripted anthology series basically invented the science fiction and horror genres when she created Frankenstein (yes, and his monster). Shelley’s season will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Mwm Studios and Eue/Sokolow.

The series hails from Fox 21 Television Studios.

Also Read: Nat Geo Wild Renews 'The Incredible Dr. Pol,' 3 Other Shows (Exclusive)

Showrunner, executive producer and writer Ken Biller will continue his role overseeing the new season, per Nat Geo. In addition to he, Grazer and Howard, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Sam Sokolow and Jeff Cooney are also executive producers. Anna Culp is producer.

Filming on “Genius 3” is expected to begin later this year.

“Genius: Picasso” premieres on Tuesday, by the way. The first season followed Albert Einstein’s exploits, and brought a whole bunch of awards and eyeballs to National Geographic.

Also Read: Katie Couric Says Nat Geo Docuseries Goes Further Than Mainstream Media: 'These Conversations Aren't Happening' (Video)

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks. “Equally inspiring is the story of Shelley’s relentless innovation, coupled with her desire to live on her own unconventional terms despite immense societal and cultural obstacles. I can’t wait for our talented team to bring her remarkable, relevant and timely story to life for season three of ‘Genius’ and do justice to her literary legacy.”

“Mary Shelley has inspired countless filmmakers with her tale of the wretch brought to life by science gone wrong, but very few have fully captured her insightful reflections on society in the myth she left behind,” added Howard. “Few know of her struggles due to gender inequities, her additional writings, her influence on other historically significant individuals and society at large. Showcasing someone like Mary Shelley and her amazing intellect, compassion and fortitude is exactly what this series is for, and we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios.”

“Our experience with Courteney, Carolyn and the Nat Geo team has been phenomenal, and our award-winning first season exceeded even our own high expectations,” said Bert Salke, president of Fox 21 Television Studios. “Audiences are in for a treat with our follow-up, featuring a transformative performance by Antonio Banderas as our Picasso, and a compelling story created by Ken Biller. The choice of Mary Shelley as the subject of our third season speaks to the incredible depth of the franchise. How fitting at this moment in time to pivot to one of the many female geniuses in human history, and Mary’s story is both stranger than fiction and incredibly dramatic. We can’t wait to get started.”

Also Read: 'Hidden Figures' TV Series in the Works at Nat Geo

Here is Nat Geo’s kickass bio on Shelley:

A brilliant thinker, radical intellectual and proto-feminist, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) brought to life one of the most enduring stories of the modern age while still a teenager. “Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” is a cautionary tale of unchecked scientific ambition and a sophisticated meditation on social institutions, personal freedom and compassion that has captured imaginations and continues to be relevant since it was first published 200 years ago. Shelley masterfully invented the Science Fiction/Horror genre with her tale of a creature brought to life, subsequently going on to create the Post-Apocalyptic genre with her later novel, “The Last Man.”

An intellectual prodigy who was inspired from an early age by the writing of her unconventional mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was determined to prove that women were the intellectual and creative equals of men. One of few women to support herself as an author during the early 18th century, Shelley wrote short stories, reviews, travelogues, and made prolific contributions to the world’s first encyclopedia, she also wrote six novels. Shelley’s inner circle included countless literary and scientific luminaries of the day, including Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary and Charles Lamb, Humphry Davy and Leigh Hunt.

Shelley met the love of her life, Romantic poet, amateur scientist and still-married Percy Bysshe Shelley, at the age of 16. After losing her virginity to Shelley at her mother’s gravesite, the pair eloped and were cast out by her father, the radical intellectual William Godwin. Shelley was to endure a lifetime of tragic misfortune, watching three of her four children die, losing multiple friends and family members to suicide, and outliving her husband, who drowned at sea. In true gothic style, Shelley elected to keep her late husband’s heart after his death

Shelley’s writing was heavily influenced by the great scientific innovation and experimentation of the early 19th century. Scientists like Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, figured prominently in her life. The story of Frankenstein was inspired in part by one of the most important scientific theories of the time, Galvanism, the study of the effect of electricity on the dead bodies of animals and humans.

Mary Shelley spent the last few years of her life being looked after by her only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley, before dying of a brain tumor at the age of 53.

Read original story ‘Genius': Mary Shelley, ‘Frankenstein’ Author, Will Be Nat Geo Show’s First Female Genius (Video) At TheWrap...

Genius producer Eue/Sokolow is partnering with Joshua Jackson's Liquid Media Group to expand both companies' international premium television footprint. Under the pact, the companies will continue to operate under their current banners with Eue/Sokolow, led by principals Jeff Cooney, Chris Cooney and Sam Sokolow, focusing on the development, packaging, sales and production of television properties, while Liquid maintains its focus on financing, physical production and…...

Antonio Banderas (“El Mariachi”) has signed on to play Pablo Picasso in Season 2 of National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated “Genius.” The limited-run series will chronicle the life and work of the Spanish painter.

“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” said Banderas. “I am thrilled to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”

“Genius” comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Fox21, Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow, and will premiere in 2018.

“Antonio was the natural choice. He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” said Howard. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.

If you haven't yet watched The Exorcist TV series and you're looking to catch up before the recently announced second season, then you'll be pleased to know that Hulu is now streaming the ten-episode first season of the Fox series.

Press Release: Santa Monica, CA [May 19, 2017] – In a new licensing agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription streaming video on-demand rights to the complete library of ABC’s hit comedy series, Fresh Off the Boat. All past episodes of the series – including the complete third season – are now available to stream exclusively on Hulu and future episodes will stream the day after they air on ABC.

Through the library deal, Hulu also becomes the exclusive streaming home to Fox’s recently-renewed thriller, The Exorcist, and gains streaming rights to past episodes of NBC’s critically-acclaimed comedy series The Carmichael Show. All episodes of both The...