*The next installment of National Geographic’s award-winning GENIUS franchise will focus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and how their dueling philosophies helped usher America through the Civil Rights Movement, per the press release.
The eight-part series “Genius: MLK/X” will premiere in February on National Geographic and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, with two new episodes debuting weekly on all platforms.
The ensemble cast includes Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre as Malcolm X, Weruche Opia as Coretta Scott King, and Jayme Lawson as Betty Shabazz. The series also marks one of the last roles for Emmy-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones (“This is Us”).
Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Television serve as producers on the series as well as Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood. Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon are showrunners and executive producers, according to the news release.
Finally, we’re thrilled to announce the next chapter in our award-winning GENIUS franchise, “Genius: MLK/X,” will be premiering Feb. 1, 2024 on @NatGeoTV, and streaming the next day on @DisneyPlus and @Hulu! #ANightWithNatGeo https://t.co/Oj4ew1tcsT pic.twitter.com/4tOivTELKO
— Nat Geo PR (@NatGeoPR) October 19, 2023
Ambassador Shabazz (producer, writer, diplomat, and eldest daughter of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Shabazz) served as consulting producer for the series.
Here’s the synopsis:
GENIUS: MLK/X follows both King and X from their formative years, where they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices, to their rich, parallel stories as they shaped their identities and became the change they wished to see in the world. Influenced as children by different upbringings and experiences: King by the Jim Crow-era South and life in the church before finding his voice at Morehouse and Boston University, and X growing up under the constant, deadly violence of the Klan and falling into a life of vice and incarceration where he was introduced to the Nation of Islam and found his voice. The two visionaries ultimately rose to pioneer a movement.
The series offers a deeper look into untapped moments in their lives as husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, taking them off the iconic T-shirts to show their humanity. GENIUS: MLK/X brings their wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, who are often portrayed as peripheral figures, to the forefront and shows them as formidable equals of the Movement. Episodes will explore the moments between the monumental historical events we’ve come to know and shine a light on how each leader and those closest to them questioned their faith, resolve and decisions as they navigated the rigors of balancing a public persona with a private life. While King and X met only once and often challenged each other’s views, neither would have been as successful without the other.
“Genius: MLK/X” will premiere on Feb. 1 on National Geographic and Stream on Feb. 2 on Disney+ and Hulu. Get a FIRST LOOK at the series via the YouTube clip above.
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