‘Genius: Aretha’: Cynthia Erivo Shines As The Queen Of Soul In A Smart, But Inconsistent Series [Review]
After installments that profiled Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, the Nat Geo dramatic series “Genius” turns to the life of the singular talent that is Aretha Franklin with “Genius: Aretha.” Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) steps into the giant shoes of this music legend, even admirably tackling some of Franklin’s biggest hits herself, as writer Suzan-Lori Parks (a Pulitzer Prize winner for “Topdog/Underdog”) jumps back and forth, connecting Franklin’s youth to the decisions she made and art she produced as an adult.