Genius: Aretha Franklin eyed as subject of season 3 of National Geographic Channel series
The Queen of Soul's life and legacy will be on full display in the upcoming season of the series
The upcoming third season of Nation Geographic Channel's series Genius may be devoted to Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.
The Queen of Soul may be coming to National Geographic as the subject of the critically acclaimed, scripted anthology drama series Genius.
According to Deadline, the upcoming third season may very well be devoted to Aretha Franklin, who died in August at age 76.
“I hear the idea for doing a Franklin-centered Genius came together quickly and was spearheaded by Imagine’s Brian Grazer,” writes Deadline contributor Nellie Andreeva. “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.”
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As noted by tvseriesfinale.com, each season of Genius explores the life of an influential and innovative historical figure. Season one covered Albert Einstein and season two highlighted Pablo Picasso. National Geographic Channel has not confirmed the subject of the third season, but Franklin certainly makes for a worthy subject.
The Detroit native was an 18-Grammy award-winner and more than 100 of her songs made the Billboard charts. In 1987, Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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During a 2007 interview with Forbes, Ms. Franklin was asked if she feels like she’s getting better with age?
“I think so,” she replied. “Next year I think I’m going to go involve myself more in my piano styling. I haven’t given a lot of time to my piano. It’s been more vocals than anything else. But I picked up some wonderful things just listening to other pianists that I appreciate, and that would be Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Vladimir Horowitz and Art Tatum. Those are the pianists I really enjoy and admire. I enjoyed James Cleveland as well. He was one of my mentors and James is one of the reasons I play the piano. And Clara Ward.”
Have you ever watched the Genius series? Do you think Aretha should be the subject of the new season?
