From their days as young adults to their final years we see their discoveries, loves, relationships, causes, flaws and genius. Aretha Franklin's family have denounced a new dramatisation of the singer's life, saying they were not consulted and "do not support" the show. For Cynthia Erivo, Aretha Franklin became larger than life during the quiet times. Special to the News Journal. “Genius: Aretha” is a complex tale, messily told. “Genius: Aretha” begins with the child prodigy, the daughter of a celebrated preacher (Courtney B. Vance). “One genius moment,” Parks decided, “is when Aretha steps up to solo in church. Aretha's granddaughter, Grace Franklin, posted a TikTok on … Courtney B. Vance has a gift for tapping into rich and complex, larger-than-life men. ... One suspects that its competing movie … What is Genius: Aretha About? View Comments. Designer Jennifer Bryan, lead costume designer for the series Genius: Aretha (starring Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin) breaks down what went … Cynthia Erivo is a fantastic actress and singer, and in the titular role of Aretha, ... movie review Yesterday at 4:05 p.m. Aretha Franklin passed away at the age of 76 on August 16, 2018, due to a malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. Production on Genius began about two years ago, just months after Aretha Franklin’s 2018 death of pancreatic cancer. Erivo is captivating, but there’s a need for additional onscreen text to fill in too many gaps that end up becoming the focus of later episodes. ... That movie, which stars Jennifer Hudson in the lead role, is also due out this year. With the National Geographic series Genius: Aretha, viewers get the opportunity to dig into the music and career of the incomparable Aretha Franklin (played flawlessly by … *Malcolm Barrett is speaking out about his portrayal of Aretha Franklin’s ex-husband Ted White in National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha” series. The life stories of history's greatest minds. “Aretha” is the third season of the National Geographic network's “Genius” series, which debuted in 2017 with Albert Einstein and continued the next year with Pablo Picasso. Aretha Franklin’s family is making it clear that they do not support National Geographic’s upcoming miniseries “Genius: Aretha,” which is set to air from March 21-24. L.” Franklin and his wife Barbara in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2016, for example, he won an Emmy for his portrayal of real-life lawyer Johnnie Cochran in “The People… 'Genius: Aretha' is blessed with Cynthia Erivo's amazing graceful Queen of Soul, if the NatGeo series is a bit of a slog. In ‘Genius: Aretha,’ singer, songwriter, and pianist, Aretha Louise Franklin’s life is brought under a microscope.She was born on March 25, 1942, to Baptist minister Clarence LaVaughn “C. Erivo is captivating, but there’s a need for additional onscreen text to fill in too many gaps that end up becoming the focus of later episodes. With Samantha Colley, Seth Gabel, Antonio Banderas, Clémence Poésy. "Genius: Aretha," a new limited series on NatGeo, gives the late Aretha Franklin a lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, with Cynthia Erivo playing a woman she first heard at the age of 9. Some lives are neat and fun-sized; they can easily be condensed into a movie or less. Aretha's family claims that the team behind Genius: Aretha did not involve them in production. “Genius: Aretha” is a complex tale, messily told. Mike Hughes. Created by Kenneth Biller, Noah Pink, Suzan-Lori Parks. ‘Genius’ Trailer: Cynthia Erivo Plays Aretha Franklin. On top of it, "Genius" arrives amid the contentious, ongoing battle over the estate of Aretha Franklin, who died in August 2018. “Genius: Aretha” mini-series starts Sunday. "Genius: Aretha," a new limited series on NatGeo, gives the late Aretha Franklin a lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, with Cynthia Erivo playing a woman she first heard at the age of 9. Genius: Aretha isn’t awful, but it’s very messy. The musical genius began her love affair with music at an early age and taught herself to play the piano by ear, without actually knowing how to read music.