Nat Geo Taps Antonio Banderas to Star in New ‘Genius’ Season

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

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.”

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.