Disney’s National Geographic is continuing production on its third installment to the Genius series with Genius: Aretha on Oct. 1 in Atlanta. Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Bad Times at the El Royale) will be starring as the Queen of Soul in the Anthony Hemmingway executive produced and directed anthology.
The original premier date of May 25 of this year, was halted due to the Coronavirus outbreak, filming only 5 ½ of the eight-episode order. National Geographic originally stated that the series would be postponed to “later this year”. However, according to sources, the series could premiere around Thanksgiving or pragmatically in 2021. It could be said that National Geographic will look to debut the series before the late singers biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, hits theaters on Jan. 15.
The National Geographic anthology series is the first authorized scripted limited series on Aretha Franklin and is released on the heels of Albert Einstein (Geoffery Rush) and Pablo Picasso (Antonio Banderas) installments. Erivo will be starring as Aretha Franklin with co-star’s Courtney B. Vance, Pauletta Washington, and Patrice Covington amongst others. Rapper T.I. and Notorious’ Antonique Smith have recurring roles.
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