Genius Anthology to Profile Martin Luther King Jr. & Malcolm X

Disney+ and National Geographic are working on the next installment of the Genius anthology, profiling Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Reggie Rock Bythewood (Swagger, A Different World) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (Shots Fired, Love & Basketball) will serve as executive producers under their Undisputed Cinema production company on the Disney+ original limited series Genius: MLK/X, produced by Imagine Television Studios and 20th Television. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard return as executive producers.

Genius previously profiled Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin. The series will move to Disney+ for the fourth installment and subsequent seasons.

Season four 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. While they met only once and often challenged each other’s views, neither would have been as successful without the other.

“Malcolm and Martin are staggering icons, and we have been eager to explore the genius of these two very real men in a way that has not yet been seen,” said the Bythewoods. “We are excited to team up with Imagine Entertainment and 20th Television to reflect their amazing lives and contributions to civil rights and the urgency of today.”