The trailer for the next installment of National Geographic’s acclaimed series Genius focusing on the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X made its debut.
As the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday weekend begins, National Geographic has released the full trailer for the next installment of their award-winning Genius series focusing on the civil rights leader and another iconic figure in the struggle for social justice, Malcolm X. The series, entitled Genius: MLK/X, is the first time that it will explore the lives of two impactful figures at once, opening with the two’s only public interaction on Capitol Hill at a Senate hearing in 1964.
Genius: MLK/X features Kelvin Harrison Jr., the Screen Actors Guild Award winner for his role in The Trial of The Chicago 7 and the star of Chevalier as Dr. King. Aaron Pierre, the actor notable for his performance as Caesar in Barry Jenkins’ Amazon series, The Underground Railroad, and M. Night Shyamalan’s, Old, portrays the activist, Malcolm X.
The docudrama series zeroes in on the lives of the two iconic figures going back to their formative years where both were reared with a strong sense of family but also beset by tragedy that placed them on their respective journeys to realize their identities and to fight for change for their people and the world.
The limited series also stars Weruche Opia as Coretta Scott King, MLK’s wife, and Jayme Lawson as Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X. Genius MLK/X also takes time to fully detail their lives and identities in full as powerful civil rights activists carrying on their late husbands’ work. The series also features the late Emmy Award winner Ron Cephas Jones in one of his final roles.
Genius: MLK/X is produced by Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ron Howard, Brian Glazer, Francie Calfo and Kristen Zolner. Ambassador Atallah Shabazz is also involved with the series, having served as a consulting producer. It is also produced by Undisputed Cinema, Imagine Television, and 20th Television. The series will air weekly and debuts on National Geographic Feb. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/8 CT with two episodes, which will be available on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
Check out the trailer for Genius: MLK/X below.