''Genius'' is an American

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

television series developed by

Noah Pink Noah Pink is a Canadian screenwriter, television producer, and director. He created the television series ''Genius'' for National Geographic, and wrote the screenplay ''Tetris'' for Apple TV+. His low-budget feature novella, Zedcrew, debuted at th ...

and

Kenneth Biller Kenneth Todd Biller (born December 23, 1964) is a television producer, writer, director and editor. He has worked on a number of American television shows including ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' Legend of the Seeker'' an ...

which premiered on

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. The first season, which aired between April and June 2017, followed the life of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, from his early years, through his time as a

patent clerk A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Major employers of patent examiners are the European Patent Office (EPO), the Un ...

, and into his later years as a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

who developed the

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...

; the season is based on the 2007 book '' Einstein: His Life and Universe'' by

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, ...

. The second season, which aired between April and June 2018, followed the life and artistry of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. In April 2018, National Geographic renewed the series for a third season. The season was originally supposed to focus on

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

but this was moved to development to instead focus on

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

. It aired in March 2021. In December 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which is set to be released on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

. The series will follow the life of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

Synopsis

The first season chronicles two periods in the life of

: the first as a patent clerk struggling to gain a teaching position and doctorate, the second as a scientist respected for his development of the

. The second season chronicles two periods in the life of

: the first as a young man first discovering his talent, the second as a celebrated artist struggling with the rise of fascism and the price of fame. The third season chronicles two periods in the life of

: as a young gospel singer impregnated at the age of twelve, and as a rising star who was crowned the "Queen of Soul".

Cast and characters

Season 1

Main

Recurring

Season 2

Main

Recurring

Season 3

Main

Recurring

Season 4

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Season 1: ''Einstein'' (2017)

Season 2: ''Picasso'' (2018)

Season 3: ''Aretha'' (2021)

Production

Development

On April 28, 2016, it was announced that

had given the production a straight-to-series order, its first ever scripted series. The series was set to be based on the biography '' Einstein: His Life and Universe'' by Walter Isaacson and adapted by Noah Pink, who was also expected to co-executive produce. Executive producers were announced to include

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

Francie Calfo Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series ''Alias,'' portrayed by Merrin Dungey from 2001–03 and again in 2006. Initially the best friend of lead character Sydney Bristow ( Jennifer Garner), Francie is murdered ...

Gigi Pritzker Gigi Pritzker (born July 27, 1962) is an American billionaire and film producer. She is a member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker is co-founder of the film production and financing company Odd Lot Entertainment, producing several films includi ...

, Rachel Shane,

Sam Sokolow Sam Sokolow (born July 3, 1969) is an American film and television producer and Chairman of Nice Media Studios, a production company based in Los Angeles, CA. Early life Samuel Wolfe Sokolow was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City in 19 ...

, and

Jeffrey Cooney Jeffrey Cooney was an American television producer and director. He was the co-founder and creative director of EUE/Sokolow Entertainment, which developed the script for the National Geographic television show, ''Genius''. Cooney, along with hi ...

. Anna Culp was set to co-produce alongside Melissa Rucker. Ron Howard was expected to direct the first episode of the series. Production companies involved with the series were set to include Imagine TV, Fox 21 TV Studios, OddLot Entertainment and EUE/Sokolow. On April 19, 2017, National Geographic renewed the series for a second season. The subject of the second season was to have been announced during the finale of the first season, but was instead revealed to be

the day after the finale, when the network and producers did not want to divert attention away from the season finale. The second season premiered on April 24, 2018. On April 18, 2018, National Geographic renewed the series for a third season. The season was initially set to follow the life of writer

. Ken Biller is expected to return as showrunner, executive producer and writer. Also returning are executive producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Francie Calfo, Jeff Cooney, Sam Sokolow, Gigi Pritzker, and Rachel Shane. Anna Culp will return as producer. Returning production companies include Imagine TV, MWM Studios, and EUE/Sokolow. On February 10, 2019, it was announced that the subject of the third season would instead be American singer

, known as "The Queen of Soul". The third season was slated to premiere on May 25, 2020 and air over four consecutive nights, but was delayed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

and began airing on March 21, 2021. On December 10, 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which is set to follow the life of

and will be moving to

Casting

Season 1

In August 2016, it was announced that

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...

and

Johnny Flynn John Patrick Vivian Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'', and portrayed David Bowie in the film '' Stardust''. Flynn i ...

would star in the series as

both as an old man and as a young adult, respectively. Additionally, it was reported that

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Wa ...

would also star in the series and that

Michael McElhatton Michael McElhatton (born 12 September 1963) is an Irish actor and writer. He is best known for playing the role of Roose Bolton in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He joined the series as a guest star in the Game of Thrones (season 2), sec ...

Seth Gabel Seth Gabel (born October 3, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for his roles of agent Lincoln Lee on Fox's television series ''Fringe'', Cotton Mather on WGN America's series '' Salem'', and Adrian Moore on the FX series ''Nip/Tuck''. He ...

Samantha Colley Samantha Colley (22 March 1989) is an English actress having had roles in various theatre and television productions, including playing the lover of both Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in the National Geographic TV series ''Genius''. Educat ...

, Richard Topol, and Vincent Kartheiser had joined the cast. In November 2016, it was announced that

Shannon Tarbet Shannon Tarbet (born 27 October 1991) is a British actress who has transitioned from an extensive career in theatre to feature film with main roles in '' Love Is Blind'' (2019) and '' Love Sarah'' (2020), and on television with recurring roles ...

Claire Rushbrook Claire Louise Rushbrook (born 25 August 1971) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Roxanne in '' Secrets & Lies.'' Early life Claire Louise Rushbrook was born on 25 August 1971 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She attended Fearnh ...

, and Robert Lindsay had been cast in recurring roles. On February 2, 2017, it was reported that

T. R. Knight Theodore Raymond Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–2009, 2020), which earned him a nomination for the P ...

had been cast in the recurring role of

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

Season 2

On September 6, 2017, it was announced that

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...

would star in the second season as

. On November 2, 2017, it was reported that Alex Rich would co-star in the series sharing the lead role of Picasso. It was further reported that

Clémence Poésy Clémence Guichard (born 30 October 1982), known professionally as Clémence Poésy (), is a French actress and fashion model. After starting on the stage as a child, Poésy studied drama and has been active in both film and television since 19 ...

Robert Sheehan Robert Sheehan (born 7 January 1988) is an Irish actor. He is best known for television roles such as Nathan Young in ''Misfits'', Darren Treacy in '' Love/Hate'', and Klaus Hargreeves in ''The Umbrella Academy,'' as well as film roles such a ...

Poppy Delevingne Poppy Angela Delevingne (born 3 May 1986)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3028 is an English model, socialite and blogger. Family and personal life Delevingne wa ...

, Aisling Franciosi, and

Sebastian Roché Sebastian Roché (born 4 August 1964) is a French-American actor. He is known for his roles as Kurt Mendel in ''Odyssey 5'', Jerry Jacks in '' General Hospital'', Thomas Jerome Newton in ''Fringe'', Balthazar in '' Supernatural'', Mikael in bot ...

also joined the cast and that Samantha Colley, T. R. Knight, Seth Gabel, and Johnny Flynn were returning from season one in new roles.

Season 3

On October 3, 2019,

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Erivo (; born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Grammy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

was cast to play

Season 4

In September 2022, the cast was announced, with

Kelvin Harrison Jr. Kelvin Harrison Jr. (born July 23, 1994) is an American actor. He is the recipient of such accolades as a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for a British Academy Film Award, Gotham Award, an Independent Spirit Award. He began his caree ...

and Aaron Pierre set to star as

and

respectively, while

Weruche Opia Reanne Weruche Opia () (born 11 April 1987) is a British-Nigerian actress and entrepreneur. She is the founding CEO of the clothing line Jesus Junkie Clothing. She was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for her performance in the B ...

was cast as

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

and

Jayme Lawson Jayme Lawson (born September 19, 1997) is an American actress. Career After graduating Juilliard School in May 2019, Lawson landed her first film role in the 2020 film ''Farewell Amor'' as Sylvia. In 2019, she gained attention when she was cast ...

Betty Shabazz Betty Shabazz (born Betty Dean Sanders; May 28, 1934/1936 – June 23, 1997), also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was married to Malcolm X. Shabazz grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where her foster ...

. In November,

Ron Cephas Jones Ron Cephas Jones (born January 8, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the drama series '' This Is Us'' (2016–2022), which earned him four consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning twice for Outstanding Gues ...

, Gary Carr and Hubert Point-Du Jour were added to the main cast for the season, with

Lennie James Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...

LisaGay Hamilton LisaGay Hamilton (born March 25, 1964) is an American actress who has portrayed roles in films, television, and on stage. She is best known for her role as secretary/lawyer Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama ''The Practice'' (1997–2003) ...

, Ashley Romans,

Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...

and

Griffin Matthews Griffin Matthews (born 1981/82) is an American actor, writer, and director. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a B.F.A. in musical theater. Matthews served two years in the Peace Corps in West Afri ...

joining in recurring roles.

Jalyn Hall Jalyn Emil Hall (born December 23, 2006) is an American actor best known for his role as Dillon James on '' All American'' and was cast as Emmett Till in the 2022 biographical film ''Till''. Early life Hall was born and raised in Atlanta, Georg ...

was cast as a younger Martin Luther King Jr. in December.

Filming

Principal photography for season one took place in mid-2016 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Filming for season two began in November 2017 in

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

and was expected to take place for over five months in various cities around the world, including

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Filming for the third season was set to commence in November 2019, for an early-2020 release. In March 2020, the production was shelved due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The series resumed production on October 1, 2020.

Music

Most of Franklin's music in season three was recorded by Erivo. The producers, however, were unable to obtain the rights to use Franklin's biggest songs, "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

" and " (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman".

Reception

Critical reception

Season 1

The first season received mostly positive reviews. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has an approval rating of 83%, based on 29 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Buoyed by a superb performance from Geoffrey Rush, ''Genius'' is a compelling origin story of one of history's most renowned scientists." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the season had a score of 65 out of 100, based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Science columnist

Dennis Overbye Dennis Overbye (born June 2, 1944, in Seattle, Washington) is a science writer specializing in physics and cosmology and is the cosmic affairs correspondent for '' The New York Times''. Biography Overbye received his B.S. in physics from M.I.T. ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the series as a "tense binge-worthy psychological thriller full of political and romantic melodrama." Overbye further noted that Einstein himself, writing to his sister, wrote, "If everybody lived a life like mine, there would be no need for novels." According to Hillary Busis of ''Vanity Fair'', the film shows, "... Einstein at work ... peers into the über-genius's tumultuous love life (monogamy, he believes, is "not natural") ... his fraught emigration to the United States ...". Busis quotes producer

: "When you move past his scientific contributions, Albert's life story—what his youth was like, who his friends were, who his enemies were, his tumultuous love life—is a story people don't know ... I think audiences are going to be riveted as we tell this ambitious and revealing human story behind Einstein's scientific brilliance."

Season 2

The second season received mixed reviews, but garnered praise for its star,

. Rotten Tomatoes gave an approval rating of 59%, based on 17 reviews. Its critical consensus reads: "An impressive performance from Antonio Banderas rescues ''Genius: Picasso'' from condensed melodrama." On Metacritic, the season had a score of 52 out of 100, based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Season 3

The third season received mainly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave an approval rating of 73% based on 26 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Cynthia Erivo captures the spirit of the singular singer with poise and passion - if only ''Aretha''s writing were as strong as her performance." On Metacritic, the season had a score of 67 out of 100, based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Reaction from Franklin's family

The family of Aretha Franklin did not react kindly to the season. They claim they were not consulted in any part of the production, despite the crew's insistence that they worked with Franklin's estate.

Accolades

References

External links

*
''Genius'' – official website
* *
Works by Pablo Picasso at Google Images
* {{Disney+ original series 2010s American anthology television series 2010s American documentary television series 2010s American drama television series 2017 American television series debuts American biographical series Aretha Franklin Cultural depictions of Albert Einstein Cultural depictions of Gertrude Stein Cultural depictions of J. Edgar Hoover Cultural depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural depictions of Mileva Marić Cultural depictions of Pablo Picasso Disney+ original programming English-language television shows National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Science education television series Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series by Imagine Entertainment Television shows filmed in France Television shows filmed in Hungary Television shows filmed in Spain Television shows filmed in the Czech Republic Television shows set in Berlin Television shows set in Italy Television shows set in Switzerland Works about Martin Luther King Jr. Works about Malcolm X Works about Albert Einstein Television shows scored by Hans Zimmer

Synopsis

Cast and characters

Season 1

Main

Recurring

Season 2

Main

Recurring

Season 3

Main

Recurring

Season 4

Main

Recurring

Episodes

Season 1: ''Einstein'' (2017)

Season 2: ''Picasso'' (2018)

Season 3: ''Aretha'' (2021)

Production

Development

Casting

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Filming

Music

Reception

Critical reception

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Reaction from Franklin's family

Accolades

See also

References

External links