‘MLK/X,’ the fourth installment of Disney+ and National Geographic’s period drama anthology series ‘Genius,’ has set its lead cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre will play Malcolm X, Weruche Opia will play Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson will play Betty Shabazz.
Harrison is best known for “It Comes at Night,” “Waves” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Pierre has starred in “The Underground Railroad” and “Old.” Opia’s credits include “I May Destroy You,” while Lawson has appeared in “The Batman,” “The First Lady” and “The Woman King.”
Additionally, Channing Godfrey Peoples has been set as the director of the pilot and will co-executive produce the season.
Harrison Jr. is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano Law Firm and Presse PR. Pierre is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell, Sloane Offer Weber & Dern and Narrative. Lawson is represented by UTA, Gang Tyre Ramer Brown & Passman, and Shelter PR. Opia is represented by Curtis Brown, Anonymous Content and Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern. Godfrey Peoples is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.
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“Genius: MLK/X” will explore the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While King advanced racial equality through nonviolent protest, Malcolm X argued forcefully for Black empowerment, identity and self-determination. With their formidable wives, Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, by their sides, King and Malcolm X became synonymous with the civil rights era and the fight for racial and economic justice.
Seasons 1-3 of “Genius,” which centered Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin, respectively, aired on National Geographic, though “MLK/X” will be a Disney+ exclusive.
Disney+ at NatGeo have also brought on a number of historians and experts to consult on the season. Jamal Joseph (“Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention”), formerly a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, is a writer, director and professor of professional practice at Columbia University School of the Arts in the film department. Peniel E. Joseph is a writer whose book, “The Sword and The Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.,” serves as inspiration for the series. Michele Norris is a columnist and consultant for Post Opinions and founding director of The Race Card Project. Dr. Kameelah Rashad is the founder and president of the Muslim Wellness Foundation (MWF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healing and emotional well-being in the American Muslim community. Dr. Barbara Reynolds is an award-winning journalist, author and minister whose books include “Jesse Jackson, America’s David” and “No, I Won’t Shut Up: 30 Years of Telling It Like It Is,” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King. Ambassador Shabazz, is a producer, writer, diplomat and eldest daughter of Dr. Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X Shabazz. Jeff Stetson is the playwright and screenwriter whose play “The Meeting” serves as inspiration for the series. Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor at City University of New York, is the author or co-author of eleven books and numerous articles on the civil rights and Black Power movements. Pastor Michael A. Walrond, Jr is the senior pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church and has been inducted into Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers.
Production is set to begin in Atlanta in October. Executive producers include Imagine Television’s Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Undisputed Cinema’s Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Francie Calfo, showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon, MWM Studios’ Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane, EUE/Sokolow’s Sam Sokolow and pilot writer Stetson. Ambassador Shabazz serves as consulting producer. 20th Television also produces.
