Film Music Reporter

Terence Blanchard (BlacKkKlansman, Malcolm X, 25th Hour, The Woman King, Perry Mason, Inside Man, Da 5 Bloods, Red Tails) is returning to score the fourth season of the National Geographic original anthology series Genius. The new season, entitled Genius: MLK/X stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Aaron Pierre in the title roles, alongside Weruche Opia, Jayme Lawson and Ron Cephas. The drama focuses on two iconic geniuses – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X – and explores how their dueling philosophies helped usher America through the Civil Rights Movement. Imagine Television’s Brian Grazer & Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind) and Kristen Zolner (Big Mouth, F Is for Family) are executive producing the 20th Television production with Reggie Rock Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, Swagger), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King, Love & Basketball) and Francie Calfo (Empire, Why Women Kill) for Undisputed Cinema, showrunners Raphael Jackson Jr. & Damione Macedon, Madison Wells’ Gigi Pritzker (Drive, Ender’s Game) & Rachel Shane (Motherless Brooklyn, The Eyes of Tammy Faye), as well as Sam Sokolow and Jeff Stetson who also penned the pilot episode. Blanchard has previously scored the show’s third season about Aretha Franklin, while Lorne Balfe composed the score for the first two seasons centering on Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso (with Hans Zimmer providing the main theme). Genius: MLK/X will premiere on February 1, 2024 on National Geographic and will also be available to stream the following day on Disney+ and Hulu.