Nat Geo is shifting its approach to Emmy-nominated anthology series Genius by featuring two icons, civil-rights leaders the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, in its fourth season.

The eight-part series, launching February 1, is an intimate look at both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King’s complex lives as husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons as it showcases their humanity and leadership qualities, Nat Geo said.

Genius MLK/X stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. as King, Aaron Pierre as Malcolm X, Weruche Opia as Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson as Betty Shabazz.

Series executive producer Gina Prince-Bythewood said the series captures the spirit and essence of Malcolm X and King, along with their wives. “We knew the narrative we wanted to tell to put these two men and two women together to show their parallel stories – not just in the iconic moments and the historical things they’ve done, but in their personal lives as well,” Bythewood told Multichannel News. 

While the first three Genius series, showcasing Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin, only featured a single icon, the dual narratives of Genius MLK/X won’t hurt the show’s ability to adequately profile both legendary leaders, according to executive producer Reggie Rock-Bythewood.

“As great a series as [Genius] has been, we never came in with a mandate to do what was done before,” he said. “We came in with our own personal mandate to disrupt the genre, and we’re so happy that we’re the first season of the show that looks at two different Geniuses.”

Along with the Bythewoods, the series is executive produced by Raphael Jackson, Damione Macedon, Channing Godfrey Peoples, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Sam Sokolow and Jeff Stetson.

Click below to listen to an interview with the Bythewoods on the latest episode of the “Content Spotlight” podcast. 

Bounce Tv and theGrio will commemorate the Juneteenth holiday with documentary and special programming airing over the holiday weekend.

Bounce TV on June 19 will premiere Xernona Clayton: A life in Black and White,
a documentary celebrating the life of one of the most unheralded civil rights icons and African American pioneers of our time, according to the network. 

From Clayton's years working as an aide and close friend to Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King through her pioneering broadcasting career – including the creation of the Trumpet Awards – the documentary provides a march through Clayton’s nearly century-long life, said Bounce. 

Also on the 19th, the Allen Media Group-owned service theGrio will air the 4th Annual Freedom Forward: Juneteenth Special, which will feature appearances by Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts and comedian Roy Wood Jr., as well as a performance from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. The one-hour special will be hosted by theGrio Daily host Natasha Alford from New York City and theGrio columnist and podcast host Panama Jackson from Washington D.C., said the service.

The two specials join CNN's June 19 Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom primetime concert special featuring such performers as Miguel, Kirk Franklin, SWV, Davido, Coi Leray and Jodeci.

NFL post-season action kicks off the list of live sports programming airing over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

On Saturday Fox will televise the NFC Wild Card game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49’ers, while NBC will air the Los Angeles Chargers-Jacksonville Jaguars AFC Wild Card game.

Sunday’s action will feature the AFC Wild Card with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills on CBS as well as the Baltimore Ravens against the Cincinnati Bengals on NBC. 

Fox on Sunday will air the NFC Wild Card matchup between the N.Y. Giants and Minnesota Vikings. On Monday night, ABC and ESPN will televise the primetime NFC playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

On the basketball court, ABC will air a Saturday night primetime NBA matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat. On Monday, TNT will televise a doubleheader featuring the Miami Heat against the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns battling the Memphis Grizzlies. 

On the soccer field, USA, Peacock and NBC will offer up nine Premier League games combined on Saturday and Sunday. 

Saturday’s college basketball schedule of games featuring top 10-ranked teams includes second-ranked Kansas taking on No. 14 Iowa State on the Big 12 Network. ESPN will televise games including fourth-ranked Alabama battling LSU, fifth-ranked Tennessee hosting Kentucky, No. 9 Arizona playing Oregon and No. 10 Texas against Texas Tech.

Sunday’s games include No. 6 UConn-St. Johns (FS1), while Monday’s tilt features third-ranked Purdue-Michigan State (Fox). ■ 

National Geographic will profile Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. as part of the new season of its Genius scripted drama series.

The fourth installment of the Emmy-winning Genius franchise, which moves to Disney Plus from National Geographic, will for the first time profile two extraordinary individuals as it explores the formative years, pioneering accomplishments, dueling philosophies and key personal relationships of King and Malcolm X, said network officials. National Geographic had previously announced King as its lone fourth season subject.

Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood will serve as executive producers for the series along with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Raphael Jackson Jr., Damione Maceson, Francie Calfo, and Anna Culp also serve as executive producers.

The previous three Genius installments focused on Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin. 

“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 in a statement. “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.” ■ 

The return of the National Hockey League and the continuation of the National Football League playoffs highlight a busy three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in TV sports.

The National Hockey League will drop the puck on the first weekend of its truncated 2020-21 season with NBC offering a national Sunday telecast of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins game. The NHL Network will telecast six NHL games from Friday to Sunday, while NBCSN will offer four live league games on Monday. 

The NHL debuted its shortened 56-game season on Wednesday, three months after the league completed its COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season within bubble environments in Toronto and Edmonton. While this season will not be played in a bubble, the league has altered its divisions -- including creating a division featuring all seven of the league’s Canadian franchises -- in an effort to mitigate the challenges of the pandemic.

The NFL will continue its march towards the Super Bowl with four Divisional playoff games. On Saturday the Los Angeles Rams will face the top-seeded Green Bay Packers in an afternoon NFC Divisional Playoff game on Fox, while the Baltimore Ravens will meet the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Divisional Playoff matchup airing on NBC. Sunday’s games include the AFC’s top-seed and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs against the Cleveland Browns on CBS, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints NFC Divisional Playoff game on Fox.

TNT will showcase three live NBA games as part of the league’s annual Martin Luther King holiday celebration. The Phoenix Suns will play the Memphis Grizzlies in a late afternoon game, followed by the primetime Milwaukee Bucks-Brooklyn Nets game and the Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers late-night telecast.

NBC and NBCSN will offer live coverage of the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships for both the men’s and women’s divisions Friday through Sunday. On Friday NBCSN will provide live afternoon coverage while NBC offers live primetime coverage. NBC on Saturday afternoon picks up live coverage while NBCSN carries primetime coverage. NBC will offer live Sunday afternoon coverage of the championships. 

On Saturday ABC will air its first-ever live UFC mixed martial arts telecast, highlighted by the Max Holloway-Calvin Kattar featherweight fight. 

Paramount Network will recognize the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. with a new documentary, I Am MLK. Jr., which chronicles the life of the American icon and leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

The event, which will air simultaneously on both Paramount Network and BET on April 4 – the day King was assassinated in 1968 – is one of several cable specials commemorating King and the Civil Rights Movement, including History’s Rise Up: The Movement That Changed America; Reelz’s Martin Luther King: One Man and His Dream; and HBO’s King in the Wilderness.

I recently spoke to Paramount Network senior vice president of sports and specials Jon Slusser about I Am MLK. Jr, which features interviews from such civil rights-era activists as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ambassador Andrew Young, as well as contemporary influencers in sports and entertainment like Carmelo Anthony, Nick Cannon and Van Jones.

Here’s what Slosser and Paramount Network want you to know about I Am MLK Jr.

The documentary is relevant to today’s social activist movements: “We’re excited about it. We’re airing it on April 4 because it’s such an important date in history, and the project is important to us because it’s so relevant to the moment we’re living in. When you look at what was happening 50 years ago and then you look at what’s happening today, there’s so much in common. We’ve made progress, but unfortunately not that much when you consider what’s happening around the world and here in the US with the rise of social activism – whether its gun violence, the women’s march or the Black Lives Matter movement. All these themes are still there, and I think this project reminds us that these issues, struggles and problems that we’ve been dealing with for a long time are still with us.”

Viewers will gain new and more in-depth insight on the life of Martin Luther King: “There are so many first-person accounts of everything from the big moments you thought that you’ve seen before, but also really intimate moments from people who spent a lot of time with him. There are little things about what he would say or what he liked to eat – a personal side to a man that most people never knew before. It was fascinating to see the interviews and first-person accounts from those who lived and worked with him on a daily basis.”

Millennial viewers will be able to relate to the documentary: What director Derik Murray tried to do is have a mix of the people that spent time with Dr. King and then have younger voices that can connect the two worlds together. When you can do that, I think it does have a greater relevance to today’s younger generation, who didn’t live and experience those things first hand. When you think of the marches that just occurred and the social activism we’re seeing today, I think we’re going to see a new generation that can identify with what happened in the past with Dr. King in a way that they never had before because of all these new, really important and relevant things that are happening around social activism. 

READ MORE: Complete Coverage Of The Multicultural TV Summit