Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre will star as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively, in the latest installment of National Geographic’s “Genius” franchise.
Backed by powerhouse couple Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood‘s Undisputed Cinema as the executive producers, the Emmy Award-winning anthology series will take a look at how the dueling philosophies of both leaders helped to move America along through the Civil Rights Movement.
The eight part series will follow both King and X from their formative years, where they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices, to their rich, parallel stories as they shaped their identities and became the change they wished to see in the world. Influenced as children by different upbringings and experiences: King by the Jim Crow-era South and life in the church before finding his voice at Morehouse and Boston University, and X growing up under the constant, deadly violence of the Klan and falling into a life of crime and incarceration where he was introduced to the Nation of Islam and found his voice. The two visionaries ultimately rose to pioneer a movement.
In addition to Harrison Jr. and Pierre, the ensemble cast will also include Weruche Opia (“I May Destroy You“) as Coretta Scott King, and Jayme Lawson (The Batman) as Betty Shabazz. The series will also feature one of the last performances from the late Emmy Award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones (“This is Us“).
“Genius: MLK/X” will premiere the first two episodes February 1 on National Geographic and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, with two new episodes debuting weekly on all platforms.
Watch the full trailer below.
