National Geographic has named actor Antonio Banderas to star as Pablo Picasso in the sophomore season of its anthology series Genius.

Banderas (The Mask Of Zoro, Evita) will portray the life of the Spanish painter in the second season of the series, which returns in 2018. The first season of Genius, which chronicled the life of Albert Einstein, was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards.

The second season of Genius will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, as well as Gigi Pritzker's Madison Wells Media’s OddLot Entertainment and EUE/Sokolow, said Nat Geo. 

“Not only are they both from Málaga, Spain, but also similar to Picasso, Antonio exudes charisma and passion, and has challenged boundaries with his creative artistry,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, head of global scripted for National Geographic in a statement. “He checks all the boxes for us and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him lead the series.”

National Geographic Channel will look to programming veteran Carol Bernstein to lead its scripted programming efforts, the network said Thursday.

Bernstein will serve as executive vice president and head of Global Scripted Development and Production for Nat Geo, tasked with spearheading the effort to significantly expand the network’s scripted efforts into long-term, global franchises, said network officials.

Bernstein, who will officially join Nat Geo Jan. 4, was previously at from Endemol Shine Studios, where she had been recently Executive Vice President since March 2015. Bernstein originally joined Shine America in 2007 as Executive Vice President, Scripted Television.

Bernstein will report to National Geographic Global Networks CEO Courteney Monroe.

“We are incredibly fortunate Carolyn is joining the network to oversee our scripted efforts,” said Monroe. “Her vast experience, exceptional creative taste and strong industry relationships will enable us to reach unprecedented new heights with our scripted endeavors in ways that support our brand and new programming vision.”