A possible third season of National Geographic’s anthology series Genius devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is taking a major step towards becoming a reality.
I have learned that music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis is expected to join the Imagine TV/Fox 21 TV Studios project as executive producer.
The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered the one key element that would clinch a green light. Bringing David on board is considered very important in that aspect.
Davis, currently chief creative officer for Sony Music Entertainment, worked with Franklin for decades. He spoke at the singer’s funeral and has been organizing a big Aretha Franklin tribute concert.
Genius was renewed for a third season in April,...
I have learned that music mogul and longtime Franklin collaborator Clive Davis is expected to join the Imagine TV/Fox 21 TV Studios project as executive producer.
The idea of doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly following the music icon’s August 16 death, spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. The project had been moving full steam ahead since, with securing access to Franklin’s music considered the one key element that would clinch a green light. Bringing David on board is considered very important in that aspect.
Davis, currently chief creative officer for Sony Music Entertainment, worked with Franklin for decades. He spoke at the singer’s funeral and has been organizing a big Aretha Franklin tribute concert.
Genius was renewed for a third season in April,...
- 10/30/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Genius! National Geographic Channel wants to fast-track an Aretha Franklin season of Fox and Imagine’s docu-drama “Genius,” an insider with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap. Ideally, the parties hope to use the Queen of Soul’s installment as the anthology series’ upcoming Season 3.
Back in April, Nat Geo said “Genius” Season 3 would focus on “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. It’s possible that Shelley could still be the third season’s subject, the insider tells us, with Franklin profiled after. The network wants both Franklin and Shelley to happen — it would just be preferable to all parties for Franklin’s run to air first, as she just passed away in August at age 76.
During her career, Franklin won 18 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 1994. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Fox 21 Television Studios, which produces the show with Imagine TV,...
Back in April, Nat Geo said “Genius” Season 3 would focus on “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. It’s possible that Shelley could still be the third season’s subject, the insider tells us, with Franklin profiled after. The network wants both Franklin and Shelley to happen — it would just be preferable to all parties for Franklin’s run to air first, as she just passed away in August at age 76.
During her career, Franklin won 18 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 1994. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Fox 21 Television Studios, which produces the show with Imagine TV,...
- 10/12/2018
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Exclusive: The upcoming third season of National Geographic’s scripted anthology series Genius may be devoted to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.
Genius, which comes from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios, was renewed for a third season in April, with author Mary Shelley revealed as its subject, to follow Albert Einstein and Picasso. I hear that installment remains in development.
I hear the idea for doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly and was spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. While sources close to the matter caution that there are still hurdles in securing all the rights necessary, I hear that everyone involved feels optimistic, and they are moving full-steam ahead with a potential Aretha Franklin third season while deals are being hammered out.
Imagine has done multiple projects about iconic music artists, including the award-winning documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years,...
Genius, which comes from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios, was renewed for a third season in April, with author Mary Shelley revealed as its subject, to follow Albert Einstein and Picasso. I hear that installment remains in development.
I hear the idea for doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly and was spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer. While sources close to the matter caution that there are still hurdles in securing all the rights necessary, I hear that everyone involved feels optimistic, and they are moving full-steam ahead with a potential Aretha Franklin third season while deals are being hammered out.
Imagine has done multiple projects about iconic music artists, including the award-winning documentary The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years,...
- 10/12/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
National Geographic has renewed scripted anthology series Genius for a third season and has revealed that iconic author Mary Shelley, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, will be its subject. The network made the announcement at the conclusion of its upfront Wednesday in New York City.
Mary Shelley will follow brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, who was at the center of Season 1, and famous artist Pablo Picasso, who was the subject of Season 2. Like with the previous seasons, Nat Geo and Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television are expected to go after big names for the lead — Geoffrey Rush played Einstein, and Antonio Banderas portrayed Picasso. The Season 3 renewal comes a week ahead of the April 24 premiere of Genius: Picasso.
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, Evp, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks.
Mary Shelley will follow brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, who was at the center of Season 1, and famous artist Pablo Picasso, who was the subject of Season 2. Like with the previous seasons, Nat Geo and Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television are expected to go after big names for the lead — Geoffrey Rush played Einstein, and Antonio Banderas portrayed Picasso. The Season 3 renewal comes a week ahead of the April 24 premiere of Genius: Picasso.
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, Evp, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks.
- 4/19/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Brilliant: Nat Geo just unveiled the subject for its third season of “Genius,” Mary Shelley.
The first woman genius to be chronicled by the cable channel’s scripted anthology series basically invented the science fiction and horror genres when she created Frankenstein (yes, and his monster). Shelley’s season will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Mwm Studios and Eue/Sokolow.
The series hails from Fox 21 Television Studios.
Also Read: Nat Geo Wild Renews 'The Incredible Dr. Pol,' 3 Other Shows (Exclusive)
Showrunner, executive producer and writer Ken Biller will continue his role overseeing the new season, per Nat Geo. In addition to he, Grazer and Howard, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Sam Sokolow and Jeff Cooney are also executive producers. Anna Culp is producer.
Filming on “Genius 3” is expected to begin later this year.
“Genius: Picasso” premieres on Tuesday, by the way. The first season followed Albert Einstein’s exploits, and brought a whole bunch of awards and eyeballs to National Geographic.
Also Read: Katie Couric Says Nat Geo Docuseries Goes Further Than Mainstream Media: 'These Conversations Aren't Happening' (Video)
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks. “Equally inspiring is the story of Shelley’s relentless innovation, coupled with her desire to live on her own unconventional terms despite immense societal and cultural obstacles. I can’t wait for our talented team to bring her remarkable, relevant and timely story to life for season three of ‘Genius’ and do justice to her literary legacy.”
“Mary Shelley has inspired countless filmmakers with her tale of the wretch brought to life by science gone wrong, but very few have fully captured her insightful reflections on society in the myth she left behind,” added Howard. “Few know of her struggles due to gender inequities, her additional writings, her influence on other historically significant individuals and society at large. Showcasing someone like Mary Shelley and her amazing intellect, compassion and fortitude is exactly what this series is for, and we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios.”
“Our experience with Courteney, Carolyn and the Nat Geo team has been phenomenal, and our award-winning first season exceeded even our own high expectations,” said Bert Salke, president of Fox 21 Television Studios. “Audiences are in for a treat with our follow-up, featuring a transformative performance by Antonio Banderas as our Picasso, and a compelling story created by Ken Biller. The choice of Mary Shelley as the subject of our third season speaks to the incredible depth of the franchise. How fitting at this moment in time to pivot to one of the many female geniuses in human history, and Mary’s story is both stranger than fiction and incredibly dramatic. We can’t wait to get started.”
Also Read: 'Hidden Figures' TV Series in the Works at Nat Geo
Here is Nat Geo’s kickass bio on Shelley:
A brilliant thinker, radical intellectual and proto-feminist, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) brought to life one of the most enduring stories of the modern age while still a teenager. “Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” is a cautionary tale of unchecked scientific ambition and a sophisticated meditation on social institutions, personal freedom and compassion that has captured imaginations and continues to be relevant since it was first published 200 years ago. Shelley masterfully invented the Science Fiction/Horror genre with her tale of a creature brought to life, subsequently going on to create the Post-Apocalyptic genre with her later novel, “The Last Man.”
An intellectual prodigy who was inspired from an early age by the writing of her unconventional mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was determined to prove that women were the intellectual and creative equals of men. One of few women to support herself as an author during the early 18th century, Shelley wrote short stories, reviews, travelogues, and made prolific contributions to the world’s first encyclopedia, she also wrote six novels. Shelley’s inner circle included countless literary and scientific luminaries of the day, including Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary and Charles Lamb, Humphry Davy and Leigh Hunt.
Shelley met the love of her life, Romantic poet, amateur scientist and still-married Percy Bysshe Shelley, at the age of 16. After losing her virginity to Shelley at her mother’s gravesite, the pair eloped and were cast out by her father, the radical intellectual William Godwin. Shelley was to endure a lifetime of tragic misfortune, watching three of her four children die, losing multiple friends and family members to suicide, and outliving her husband, who drowned at sea. In true gothic style, Shelley elected to keep her late husband’s heart after his death
Shelley’s writing was heavily influenced by the great scientific innovation and experimentation of the early 19th century. Scientists like Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, figured prominently in her life. The story of Frankenstein was inspired in part by one of the most important scientific theories of the time, Galvanism, the study of the effect of electricity on the dead bodies of animals and humans.
Mary Shelley spent the last few years of her life being looked after by her only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley, before dying of a brain tumor at the age of 53.
Read original story ‘Genius': Mary Shelley, ‘Frankenstein’ Author, Will Be Nat Geo Show’s First Female Genius (Video) At TheWrap...
The first woman genius to be chronicled by the cable channel’s scripted anthology series basically invented the science fiction and horror genres when she created Frankenstein (yes, and his monster). Shelley’s season will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Mwm Studios and Eue/Sokolow.
The series hails from Fox 21 Television Studios.
Also Read: Nat Geo Wild Renews 'The Incredible Dr. Pol,' 3 Other Shows (Exclusive)
Showrunner, executive producer and writer Ken Biller will continue his role overseeing the new season, per Nat Geo. In addition to he, Grazer and Howard, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Sam Sokolow and Jeff Cooney are also executive producers. Anna Culp is producer.
Filming on “Genius 3” is expected to begin later this year.
“Genius: Picasso” premieres on Tuesday, by the way. The first season followed Albert Einstein’s exploits, and brought a whole bunch of awards and eyeballs to National Geographic.
Also Read: Katie Couric Says Nat Geo Docuseries Goes Further Than Mainstream Media: 'These Conversations Aren't Happening' (Video)
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks. “Equally inspiring is the story of Shelley’s relentless innovation, coupled with her desire to live on her own unconventional terms despite immense societal and cultural obstacles. I can’t wait for our talented team to bring her remarkable, relevant and timely story to life for season three of ‘Genius’ and do justice to her literary legacy.”
“Mary Shelley has inspired countless filmmakers with her tale of the wretch brought to life by science gone wrong, but very few have fully captured her insightful reflections on society in the myth she left behind,” added Howard. “Few know of her struggles due to gender inequities, her additional writings, her influence on other historically significant individuals and society at large. Showcasing someone like Mary Shelley and her amazing intellect, compassion and fortitude is exactly what this series is for, and we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios.”
“Our experience with Courteney, Carolyn and the Nat Geo team has been phenomenal, and our award-winning first season exceeded even our own high expectations,” said Bert Salke, president of Fox 21 Television Studios. “Audiences are in for a treat with our follow-up, featuring a transformative performance by Antonio Banderas as our Picasso, and a compelling story created by Ken Biller. The choice of Mary Shelley as the subject of our third season speaks to the incredible depth of the franchise. How fitting at this moment in time to pivot to one of the many female geniuses in human history, and Mary’s story is both stranger than fiction and incredibly dramatic. We can’t wait to get started.”
Also Read: 'Hidden Figures' TV Series in the Works at Nat Geo
Here is Nat Geo’s kickass bio on Shelley:
A brilliant thinker, radical intellectual and proto-feminist, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) brought to life one of the most enduring stories of the modern age while still a teenager. “Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” is a cautionary tale of unchecked scientific ambition and a sophisticated meditation on social institutions, personal freedom and compassion that has captured imaginations and continues to be relevant since it was first published 200 years ago. Shelley masterfully invented the Science Fiction/Horror genre with her tale of a creature brought to life, subsequently going on to create the Post-Apocalyptic genre with her later novel, “The Last Man.”
An intellectual prodigy who was inspired from an early age by the writing of her unconventional mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was determined to prove that women were the intellectual and creative equals of men. One of few women to support herself as an author during the early 18th century, Shelley wrote short stories, reviews, travelogues, and made prolific contributions to the world’s first encyclopedia, she also wrote six novels. Shelley’s inner circle included countless literary and scientific luminaries of the day, including Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary and Charles Lamb, Humphry Davy and Leigh Hunt.
Shelley met the love of her life, Romantic poet, amateur scientist and still-married Percy Bysshe Shelley, at the age of 16. After losing her virginity to Shelley at her mother’s gravesite, the pair eloped and were cast out by her father, the radical intellectual William Godwin. Shelley was to endure a lifetime of tragic misfortune, watching three of her four children die, losing multiple friends and family members to suicide, and outliving her husband, who drowned at sea. In true gothic style, Shelley elected to keep her late husband’s heart after his death
Shelley’s writing was heavily influenced by the great scientific innovation and experimentation of the early 19th century. Scientists like Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, figured prominently in her life. The story of Frankenstein was inspired in part by one of the most important scientific theories of the time, Galvanism, the study of the effect of electricity on the dead bodies of animals and humans.
Mary Shelley spent the last few years of her life being looked after by her only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley, before dying of a brain tumor at the age of 53.
Read original story ‘Genius': Mary Shelley, ‘Frankenstein’ Author, Will Be Nat Geo Show’s First Female Genius (Video) At TheWrap...
- 4/19/2018
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
Genius producer Eue/Sokolow is partnering with Joshua Jackson's Liquid Media Group to expand both companies' international premium television footprint. Under the pact, the companies will continue to operate under their current banners with Eue/Sokolow, led by principals Jeff Cooney, Chris Cooney and Sam Sokolow, focusing on the development, packaging, sales and production of television properties, while Liquid maintains its focus on financing, physical production and…...
- 9/15/2017
- Deadline TV
Antonio Banderas (“El Mariachi”) has signed on to play Pablo Picasso in Season 2 of National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated “Genius.” The limited-run series will chronicle the life and work of the Spanish painter.
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” said Banderas. “I am thrilled to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”
“Genius” comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Fox21, Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow, and will premiere in 2018.
“Antonio was the natural choice. He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” said Howard. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.
“The life story of Pablo Picasso has long since fascinated me and I have so much respect for this man, who also comes from my birthplace Málaga,” said Banderas. “I am thrilled to tell an authentic story of one of the most innovative painters in the world.”
“Genius” comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Fox21, Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and Eue/Sokolow, and will premiere in 2018.
“Antonio was the natural choice. He, like Picasso, has a no-holds-barred approach to life that will add to the genuineness that we’re looking for,” said Howard. “He has such tremendous range as an actor, who I know will bring this brilliant and unconventional artist to life.
- 9/6/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
If you haven't yet watched The Exorcist TV series and you're looking to catch up before the recently announced second season, then you'll be pleased to know that Hulu is now streaming the ten-episode first season of the Fox series.
Press Release: Santa Monica, CA [May 19, 2017] – In a new licensing agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription streaming video on-demand rights to the complete library of ABC’s hit comedy series, Fresh Off the Boat. All past episodes of the series – including the complete third season – are now available to stream exclusively on Hulu and future episodes will stream the day after they air on ABC.
Through the library deal, Hulu also becomes the exclusive streaming home to Fox’s recently-renewed thriller, The Exorcist, and gains streaming rights to past episodes of NBC’s critically-acclaimed comedy series The Carmichael Show. All episodes of both The...
Press Release: Santa Monica, CA [May 19, 2017] – In a new licensing agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Hulu has acquired the exclusive subscription streaming video on-demand rights to the complete library of ABC’s hit comedy series, Fresh Off the Boat. All past episodes of the series – including the complete third season – are now available to stream exclusively on Hulu and future episodes will stream the day after they air on ABC.
Through the library deal, Hulu also becomes the exclusive streaming home to Fox’s recently-renewed thriller, The Exorcist, and gains streaming rights to past episodes of NBC’s critically-acclaimed comedy series The Carmichael Show. All episodes of both The...
- 5/19/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
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