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The third installment of “Genius” is premiering on National Geographic on March 21 at 9 p.m. EDT and will be available on Hulu on March 25. The eight-part, four-night tv series will show details of the life of late music legend and Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in the “first-ever, definitive, and only authorized scripted series.”
Starred by English actress, singer, and songwriter Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha” chronicles will go through many of Franklin’s hit songs, including “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” “Chain of Fools,” “Don’t Play That Song” and “Save Me.”
“‘Genius: Aretha’ will explore Aretha Franklin’s musical genius and incomparable career, as well as the immeasurable impact and lasting influence she has had on music and culture around the world,” the network said in a press release.
According to Essence, the hour-long episodes start with Frankin’s journey to find the perfect hit song until she makes it to Atlantic Records. All this while including interjected scenes that take the viewer back in time to showcase Franklin’s struggle to become a benchmark in the music industry and one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Watch the trailer below
Fans of Aretha Franklin would also be able to enjoy a film based on the singer’s life. Scheduled to be released in the United States on August 13, 2021, Respect starred by Jennifer Hudson and directed by Liesl Tommy will share profound and intimate moments of the superstar, who died on August 16, 2018.
“We met in New York, and one of the first things she said to me was ‘You’re gonna win another Oscar for playing me, right?’ Imagine Aretha Franklin looking you in the face and saying that,” Hudson said to Entertainment Weekly. “I was like, ‘Eh, uh, eh… I can try.’”
“It’s a part of Black American culture — if you’re of a certain age, Aretha was in your house in some way, shape, or form. I don’t remember my life without her voice,” says Audra McDonald,who portrays Franklin’s mother. “So I don’t want to say I was surprised at what I learned, but in some ways it made sense because the depth to which she goes to the bottom of her soul, to the bottom of her toes when she sings, that has to come from someone who’s known all of it — known joy, known sorrow, known absolute pain and grief.”
The story also includes actors Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Skye Dakota Turner, Tate Donovan, and Mary J. Blige.