Genius Celebrates the Queen of Soul

The new season of Genius showcases the incredible life and career of Aretha Franklin

When Aretha Franklin follows in the footsteps of Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, she will represent a number of firsts for National Geographic’s Genius: the first woman, first American, first person of colour, first mother and first musician. “One of the questions, when we started working on this project was, ‘Is Aretha Franklin a genius?’ ” muses Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, who makes her debut as showrunner in this instalment of the hit drama. “The answer, of course, is a resounding yes. Aretha not only makes art that is timeless, that runs through the fabric of all of our lives and endures, but she does what Genius should be doing: It’s inclusive and it ignites the genius in each and every one of us.”

With a career that spanned over five decades, there was plenty to tap into in the life of the Queen of Soul, portrayed in this iteration by Tony-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning artist Cynthia Erivo. “The hard part was trying to figure out what we were telling, there’s so much of her life to draw from,” says exec producer and director Anthony Hemingway. “Thankfully, in our eight hours of this series, we get to really breathe life into her in so many ways and tap into all the complexities that really represent the Queen.”

While wrapped in Franklin’s musical journey, the singer/songwriter’s legacy is much more than the music she left behind. “We have been into the social justice aspect of Aretha’s story from jump,” says Parks. “Aretha was one of the Black women pioneers. She worked with Dr. King when it was perhaps less than fashionable. She was one of the foremothers in that movement, with celebrities using their creative capital for social justice. From the very beginning, it’s a component that I wanted to feature in Aretha’s life.”

Scripted interpretations of long and complex lives often take creative licence for the story to be told in a narratively satisfying manner. In the case of Franklin, the goal was to not veer off from the truth. “We wanted to honour her by doing it as accurately as possible,” says Hemingway. “From understanding how the world really shaped her life and how she interacted with her family, and how she was able to really lead the charge on her work and really tell the story and sing the songs that she really wanted—that was the fun of it. From production design to costume design, hair and makeup, music, dance and choreography, we all celebrated the opportunity to really tap into this as authentically as possible.”

As tends to be the case with most brilliant artists, Franklin’s roots lay in adversity, including a pregnancy at the age of 12. “Aretha had such a long career and a beautiful life that was full of peaks and valleys that we can only imagine living,” says Parks. “So many things that she went through—the highs, the lows—would have crushed a lesser being; so we didn’t have to fabricate anything to make it interesting. We just had to faithfully and respectfully examine the points of her life and weave them together.”

Emmy-winner Courtney B. Vance plays Franklin’s father, C. L. Franklin, an influential reverend and civil rights activist known as the “Million Dollar Voice,” who had a close but very messy relationship with his daughter. “The thing that’s most impactful to me about Reverend Franklin is that during this time period, folks from the church were crossing over and going into the pop world, which was difficult and fraught with dangers. Papa had to navigate that with her. There were no rules back then, especially for folks of colour,” says Vance. “Based on the hand that she was dealt, [Aretha] could have collapsed, but for whatever reason, whatever the family dynamics, she rose above it. That’s what this story is about.”

Erivo herself needed no introduction to the legend, but stepping into Franklin’s shoes took a more meticulous approach than a deep love for the legend’s artistry. “You approach it by paying attention to the music, listening to her voice, listening to how she communicates with her music,” says the British actress. “I was lucky because this amazing documentary, Amazing Grace, is a really wonderful look into the relationship she has with people and the way she communicates, the way she is with others. I’ve been poring over lots of her interviews to find out her cadence. I get to be a geek of something I really love.”

Franklin’s legacy is long lasting, but in recreating her life, the producers have discovered her genius lays in an essence that they hope to capture through moments, both iconic and deeply personal. “She’s not just the awesome sister who sings brilliantly and plays piano gorgeously,” says Parks. “Genius is someone who brings people together, as she did throughout her life.”

Genius airs Sundays at 6 p.m. & 7 p.m. (repeating at 9 p.m. & 10 p.m.) on National Geographic