Executive producers Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reggie Rock Bythewood and co-showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon were at Deadline’s Contenders TV event Saturday to discuss the historical importance of showing Black stories onscreen in the latest season National Geographic’s anthology series Genius.
Season 4 focuses on Civil Rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre) from their formative years, molded by their fathers and racial injustices, to their legendary careers that changed the world.
Undoubtedly, there have been copious amounts of media and examinations on the lives of X and King, the two most pivotal figures in fighting against racial injustices and prejudice. However, Jackson and Macedon went undeterred in trying to find a new way to tell their story in Genius MLK/X.
“We gathered a multitude of historians and people who knew either Martin or Malcolm to give us the behind-the-scenes insight as...
Season 4 focuses on Civil Rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre) from their formative years, molded by their fathers and racial injustices, to their legendary careers that changed the world.
Undoubtedly, there have been copious amounts of media and examinations on the lives of X and King, the two most pivotal figures in fighting against racial injustices and prejudice. However, Jackson and Macedon went undeterred in trying to find a new way to tell their story in Genius MLK/X.
“We gathered a multitude of historians and people who knew either Martin or Malcolm to give us the behind-the-scenes insight as...
- 4/14/2024
- by Destiny Jackson
- Deadline Film + TV
Meagan Good is standing by her man. The Eve’s Bayou actor was with her boyfriend Jonathan Majors as he left court in New York City on April 8 after he was sentenced to probation on domestic violence charges.
In December 2023, a jury convicted Majors, 34, of assaulting and harassing his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. He was facing up to 12 months in jail, but on Monday, a judge instead ordered him to complete a year-long, in-person domestic violence intervention program. He was also ordered to have no contact with Jabbari.
Jonathan Majors arrives with Meagan Good for sentencing in his domestic abuse case at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 8, 2024 in New York City. | David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Majors and Good looked somber as they arrived at court in Manhattan on Monday. On Dec. 18, the Creed III actor was found guilty of assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree...
In December 2023, a jury convicted Majors, 34, of assaulting and harassing his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. He was facing up to 12 months in jail, but on Monday, a judge instead ordered him to complete a year-long, in-person domestic violence intervention program. He was also ordered to have no contact with Jabbari.
Jonathan Majors arrives with Meagan Good for sentencing in his domestic abuse case at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 8, 2024 in New York City. | David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Majors and Good looked somber as they arrived at court in Manhattan on Monday. On Dec. 18, the Creed III actor was found guilty of assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree...
- 4/8/2024
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
“Genius: MLK/X” is the fourth installment in National Geographic’s anthology series, but it’s the first one to focus on two individuals in a single season. After the first three seasons centered on Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin, respectively, Season 4 chronicles the parallel lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre). The civil rights icons only met once in real life, prompting producers to find a way in to tell a unified story.
“The challenge for us at the beginning was finding the thematic connection, which we very easily found in the research,” executive producer and showrunner Damione Macedon said Thursday during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “They went through the same emotional milestones as men at the same time. They both became husbands in and around the same time, they both became...
“The challenge for us at the beginning was finding the thematic connection, which we very easily found in the research,” executive producer and showrunner Damione Macedon said Thursday during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “They went through the same emotional milestones as men at the same time. They both became husbands in and around the same time, they both became...
- 2/9/2024
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Get ready for an emotionally charged episode of “Genius: MLK/X” as Season 4 Episode 5, titled “Matriarchs,” airs on National Geographic at 9:00 Pm on Thursday, February 15, 2024. In this compelling installment, viewers are taken behind the scenes to explore the lives of Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, the influential wives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively.
As pressures and expectations mount, Coretta and Betty find themselves grappling with the challenges of balancing their public personas with their private lives. They are forced to confront their resolve and decisions, questioning the sacrifices they’ve made in the name of their husbands’ causes.
With raw emotions and poignant storytelling, “Matriarchs” offers a glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of two remarkable women who played pivotal roles in the civil rights movement. Don’t miss this powerful episode of “Genius: MLK/X” as it delves deep into the complexities of love, activism,...
As pressures and expectations mount, Coretta and Betty find themselves grappling with the challenges of balancing their public personas with their private lives. They are forced to confront their resolve and decisions, questioning the sacrifices they’ve made in the name of their husbands’ causes.
With raw emotions and poignant storytelling, “Matriarchs” offers a glimpse into the struggles and triumphs of two remarkable women who played pivotal roles in the civil rights movement. Don’t miss this powerful episode of “Genius: MLK/X” as it delves deep into the complexities of love, activism,...
- 2/8/2024
- by Jules Byrd
- TV Everyday
On February 1, 2024, National Geographic premiered the fourth season of “Genius,” which centers on two icons of the civil rights movement: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. “Genius: MLK/X” stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre in the titular roles, with a supporting cast that includes Weruche Opia, Jayme Lawson, Jalyn Hall and the late Ron Cephas Jones.
The limited series puts an intense focus on the formative years of Martin and Malcolm, showing how their experiences and relationships as young children and teens shaped and influenced the iconic figures they would become. Malcolm’s release from prison and Martin’s graduation from Boston University begin their respective journeys that will one day change the nation, but also begin a budding rivalry.
Executive produced by Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the pilot episode is written by playwright Jeff Stetson (“The Meeting”) and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples.
The limited series puts an intense focus on the formative years of Martin and Malcolm, showing how their experiences and relationships as young children and teens shaped and influenced the iconic figures they would become. Malcolm’s release from prison and Martin’s graduation from Boston University begin their respective journeys that will one day change the nation, but also begin a budding rivalry.
Executive produced by Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, the pilot episode is written by playwright Jeff Stetson (“The Meeting”) and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples.
- 2/2/2024
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, and David Oyelowo have all portrayed civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., whose Atlanta sit-ins, Montgomery bus boycotts, and peaceful protests desegregated the nation. When Kelvin Harrison Jr. was first offered the role, he was overwhelmed by the weight of the historical figure and turned it down.
“I still was a little bit scared and unsure if that was something that I needed to be participating in,” Harrison tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t really see what I could offer in this moment, and...
“I still was a little bit scared and unsure if that was something that I needed to be participating in,” Harrison tells Rolling Stone. “I didn’t really see what I could offer in this moment, and...
- 2/1/2024
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
Towering civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, both assassinated at the age of 39, met briefly on March 26, 1964 at the U.S. Capitol, where they were both present in support of the passage of the Civil Rights Act. While their paths intersected only once before their untimely deaths, the Nat Geo series “Genius: MLK/X” presents their extraordinary lives in tandem, despite their famously opposing ideologies.
“So often we’re told you have to choose between Martin and Malcolm: Who do you identify with? Who do you want to follow?” executive producer Gina Prince-Bythewood said during a post-screening conversation at the “MLK/X” premiere on Jan. 29. “But we knew that they were both integral to the movement. They both had the same goal — they just said different means of going about it. And the more that we got into the research, we realized how close they were...
“So often we’re told you have to choose between Martin and Malcolm: Who do you identify with? Who do you want to follow?” executive producer Gina Prince-Bythewood said during a post-screening conversation at the “MLK/X” premiere on Jan. 29. “But we knew that they were both integral to the movement. They both had the same goal — they just said different means of going about it. And the more that we got into the research, we realized how close they were...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
At some point in middle school or high school, most people were exposed to two different types of rudimentary essay-writing. There’s the five-paragraph essay, that goes, intro/thesis-body-body-body-conclusion. And there’s the compare-and-contrast essay, in which you start with two seemingly opposed subjects and unify them by juxtaposing the ways they’re different, but also the ways in which they’re similar. From a distance of decades it’s easy to mock both essay structures, but they’re both incredibly useful ways of teaching young writers to approach complicated topics.
I’m not sure if the new season of National Geographic’s Genius anthology is the most ambitious compare-and-contrast essay every written, but MLK/X is at least a generally well-intentioned illustration of both pros and cons of the format.
Over eight hours, Genius: MLK/X uses a frequently on-the-nose back-and-forth approach to the lives of Martin Luther King Jr....
I’m not sure if the new season of National Geographic’s Genius anthology is the most ambitious compare-and-contrast essay every written, but MLK/X is at least a generally well-intentioned illustration of both pros and cons of the format.
Over eight hours, Genius: MLK/X uses a frequently on-the-nose back-and-forth approach to the lives of Martin Luther King Jr....
- 1/31/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The premiere of National Geographic’s “Genius: MLK/X” was held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, January 29. Following a star-studded red carpet and screening of the first episode titled “Graduation,” a panel was hosted by civil rights advocate and law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw. Panelists included executive producers Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Brian Grazer, actors Kelvin Harrison Jr., Weruche Opia (Coretta Scott King), Aaron Pierre (Malolm X), Jayme Lawson (Betty Shabazz), showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Madedon, director Channing Godfrey Peoples and writer Jeff Stetson. Read the partial transcript from the event below.
Episode 1 (“Graduation”) is an intense focus on the formative years of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and their experiences and relationships as young children and teens that shape and influence the iconic figures they would become. Malcolm’s release from prison and King’s graduation from Boston University...
Episode 1 (“Graduation”) is an intense focus on the formative years of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and their experiences and relationships as young children and teens that shape and influence the iconic figures they would become. Malcolm’s release from prison and King’s graduation from Boston University...
- 1/31/2024
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
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