The third season of National Geographic’s scripted anthology Genius will be Aretha Franklin-focused.
Season three, which will be based on the life and career of the Queen of Soul, follows two previous centering on Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso.
The news was announced by the network during its TCA panel, during which Nat Geo also announced that Pulitzer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks will serve as executive producer and showrunner for the upcoming season. Clive Davis, as well as Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman, will also executive produce.
When Genius was renewed in April, it was also announced that the third season will feature author Mary Shelley. Now that it has been confirmed that the forthcoming season will be devoted to Franklin, Deadline reports that the “Mary Shelley story remains in consideration for future installments of the anthology series.”
“Aretha Franklin had the ability to empower generations through her iconic music, and I’m excited to finally be able to tell her story, a career passion of mine. All through her life she used her voice to elevate people and the causes she believed in, especially the women’s and civil rights movements,” executive producer Brian Grazer said in a statement. “You can hear the hopes and sorrows of a divided nation in her soulful voice, penetrating and motivating people at their core in a deeply emotional way. She cut through the pain of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination to help heal and unite America with her music and, in the process, ushered in the post-gospel era of rhythm and blues. We’re so grateful she shared her genius with the world.”
Filming on the Franklin-centered Genius season is set to begin this summer.
