“Aaron and I worked together on a movie called The Lion King, I don't know if you heard of it,” joked Kelvin Harrison Jr. during a TCA press conference for Genius: MLK/X. Kelvin plays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the series, and his Mufasa: The Lion King co-star, Aaron Pierre, stars as Malcolm X (in the upcoming Disney film, they play Scar and Mufasa respectively). As the two actors left The Lion King prequel to begin filming the fourth season of National Geographic’s anthology series, they had an opportunity to chat about the weight of these roles, despite only having one scene together on the project. “We started having discussions of how do we want to lead, because the extension of getting cast in these roles is starting to figure out, well, how do we represent leadership for these men on these sets? That was a point of a connection. And then in the middle, we checked in again. Aaron came over, I made dinner, he brought some doughnuts, and we chatted. We checked in to see how do we want to continue on in the second half.” This conversation fittingly happened as the eight-episode season is midway through it’s run.
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Aaron Pierre recalled his first conversation with Kelvin about taking on the role of Malcolm X. “We were very vulnerable. We were very open, and we shared our fears. We shared our concerns, and we shared how terrified we were to embark on a journey of this magnitude and to take on a journey with such an enormous responsibility. ] And I think from that was born trust, was born a deep connection and support network between the two of us, and I've always felt seen by him. I've always felt supported by him, and you can't underestimate the power of that, particularly when you're embarking on a journey like this. I appreciate him greatly.”
This season of Genius is the first to focus on two central figures, who are on separate but parallel paths. “We constructed a think tank of scholars and historians who knew Martin and Malcolm and had a wealth of knowledge that we were able to pick and choose what we want to explore within the series,” explained Raphael Jackson Jr., one of the showrunners and executive producers. “That level of research allowed us to find things that were factual and allow us to build story around. People like Peniel Joseph, who wrote The Sword and the Shield, was someone who was integral within that process. We had Malcolm X's daughter, Ambassador Shabazz, who was a consultant on the show as well, who was incredibly informative as far as the insight behind Betty and Malcolm. And many other people who we were able to pick the brains of before we even start to construct the scripts. The data that we had allowed us to really dive into stories that were rich and factual as well.”
One of the questions for the panel was about audience takeaways, particularly for non-Black viewers. “This is not a homework assignment,” said showrunner and executive producer Damione Macedone. “We want people to be entertained by learning more about people we all think we know. Another major thing for us, too, is depicting Martin, Malcolm, Betty, Coretta as young. We all see them as older because we’re all reading about them in our history books, but they were in their early 20s and mid-30s when they were doing all these incredible things. I was telling my daughter recently that Martin and Malcolm were the same age as LeBron James is today when they were both killed. And that reminder brings us a little bit closer to them and gives us an understanding that they were touchable. In doing what they did, it only makes it that much more entertaining as producers and storytellers to illuminate their story, but also to bring to life the encouraging and incredible events that they brought the world to their knees to see.”
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Speaking of recognizing the youth of these great activists, that was the key for Jayme Lawson’s approach to playing Malcolm X’s wife. “One of the earlier pieces of research that I got was a children's book on Dr. Betty Shabazz written by her daughter, Ilyasah,” Jayme revealed. “It somewhat fictionalizes the story of her mother from the time she was born until her teenage life. I remember finding that and just being like, oh, this is my saving grace for this show because I found the little girl of Betty. As a woman, I walk into every room with my little girl, point blank, period. I knew that once I found that, beyond all the intellectual conversations around Dr. Shabazz, all of her accomplishments, her achievements, aside from all of that, just the human, the ground level of where she started and what she carried with her into every room. Her need of service, her upbringing, and the challenges that came with that all came from this children's book. That was a really special piece for me that I went back to, time and time again.”
The series’ fifth episode, titled “Matriarchs,” focuses almost entirely on Dr. Betty Shabazz and Coretta Scott King, and it shouldn’t be a spoiler that the women central to the story are the ones who remain in the end. “The highlight of the women carrying on the legacy after their men were taken just shows the powerhouses that these women were before they met these men, during the time they were with them, and after they were with them,” explained Weruche Opia, who plays Coretta Scott King. “I personally don't think that those men would have been who they were without the women they were with… We're not going to say it was easy because that burden is heavy, and I can't even begin to understand, but I think those men knew the women they were with, and they knew that they were going to be good, and the women carried on the race.”
Genius: MLK/X is halfway through its run, and as was mentioned, a cabal of people who knew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Coretta Scott King, and Dr. Betty Shabazz were consulted to help tell this story. Now that it’s rolling out into the world, the team was asked about feedback from Ambassador Shabazz. “I actually just sent her the link to the show,” executive producer Gina Prince-Bythewood revealed. “I'm eagerly awaiting to hear what she thinks. We’re excited and proud of the show, and her input was invaluable, and the things that were important to her, [she] wanted to make sure that it was clear that Malcolm loved his wife, loved his family, and laughed, and danced, and all those things we were able to depict in this.”
Past episodes of Genius: MLK/X are available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. Episodes 5 and 6 air tonight at 9/8c on Nat Geo, and the final two episodes will be broadcast at the same time on February 22nd.
I also had the opportunity to talk to the cast on the red carpet at the premiere of Genius: MLK/X, which you can enjoy right here.