This is what happens in the television world on Sunday 21 March. All times are Oriental.
Top choice
Genie: Aretha (National Geographic, 9pm, series premiere, back-to-back episodes): The third season of Genius is more than just a link in the NatGeo chain. It’s about Aretha.
On the heels of National Geographic’s Genie: Einstein and Genie: Picasso come Genie: Aretha, an eight-episode look at the life and legendary musical brilliance of the Queen Of Soul. Before the start of the pandemic in 2020, The AV Club chatted with showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks – one of the great American playwrights, and a bit of multi-hyphen genius – about delivering Franklin’s life on screen, and why genius is both a noun and a verb .
The AV Club: What made Aretha Franklin a genius?
Suzan-Lori Parks: She creates something that transcends time, that draws from the past and fires itself in the future. And she is radically inclusive in the use of her genius, because genius is not just a noun, it is a verb. It is also something that includes. Something that enlightens the genius in each of us. She is the first person of color [to be the subject of] this series. She is the first American in the Genius series, she is the first woman in the Genius series, she is the first mother in the Genius series. I think that’s how her genius works. On all cylinders.
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AVC: Me. Franklin’s father was a major influential figure in her life. After going into her story as a writer, what do you think is at the heart of that relationship?
SLP: Aretha’s father, Reverend CL Franklin, was a powerhouse. He was an inspiring figure. He was one of the mentors of dr. Martin Luther King jr. In ’63 he mentioned something, I think it was the Detroit Walk To Freedom. It was [at that time] the largest civil rights march of its kind ever. And then no one hears about it, because a month or so later we had the March On Washington.
Aretha grew up in the presence of that power. She learned so much from a public figure from him … Her father was not just a religious figure either. He was a human being. He was a complicated man. He loved sunday morning and he loved Saturday night. We have a great relationship with the Aretha Franklin Estate, and we hear over and over again how much she loved her father. Does not mean that their relationship was perfect, but there was a strong, strong bond between them.
AVC: How did you approach scenes where Aretha is performing? When we look at how an artist interprets the performance of another?
SLP: Well, Cynthia Erivo is a brilliant, brilliant performer. She is also a joy to work with and is very disciplined as an artist. Cynthia is a devotee of Aretha Franklin and was [for years]. She has a lot of love and admiration for her. She not only imitates; It is not so. She channels the spirit of the queen.
AVC: Was she always involved in the project?
SLP: Cynthia Erivo was the only one I ever wanted to play the role. I had dinner with her and she came into the restaurant, and they were playing music on the sound system, and when she went to my table while she was sitting, Aretha Franklin’s ‘Call Me’ came on the sound system .
AVC: cold fever.
SLP: And I said, ‘Sister, you’re called.’ And she answered, “Yes, I hear it.”
AV Club: What’s your favorite Aretha Franklin song?
SLP: Well, now “Call Me” is not just a song for me. It is connected to a magical moment. But I like ‘Rock Steady’. I like ‘Chain Of Fools’,’ Dr. Feelgood ”… so many good songs.
AVC: Is it liberating or frightening to interpret the life of a public figure who is not? only a public figure but an icon?
SLP: This is my thing. I am called to these great challenges, this great work. It’s a burden, but the burden is somehow light, because in my experience, when I work on the story of an icon, of a famous person, I am greatly helped by their spirit. I rely heavily on their spirit for guidance and help. Like that moment when Cynthia came in and played “Call Me”? I mean, I rely there on the spirit of Aretha Franklin. I say, ‘Me. Franklin, can you help me here? Can you help me have this conversation with me. Cynthia Erivo to perform? And there she was. And I believe it a lot.
AVC: everything you write is inherently musical, but each project has its own sound. How can you find that musicality for each project?
SLP: I’m listening. It sounds like a simple answer, but it is not an easy task to listen to. You need to get rid of the clutter and open yourself up. And that’s one of the things I admire about Aretha Franklin. She listens. She didn’t just do the same thing over and over and over. She moves from gospel to pop, she moves forward in pop music, she embraces disco, she embraces opera. She was constantly opening herself up to new styles. As an artist, I draw a lot of inspiration from it. I just keep my ears open. I stay awake.
Regular coverage
American Gods (Starz, 20:00): season three final
The Simpsons (Fox, 8pm): drop-in coverage of 700th episode
Shameless (Showtime, 21:00)
The Walking Dead (AMC, 21:00)
Wildcard
V: Into The Storm (HBO, 9pm, series premiere, back-to-back episodes): ‘QAnon has penetrated the mainstream. We can no longer afford to ignore Q, and it makes V: Into The Storm disturbingly relevant. The documentary begins with footage of the January 6 uprising at the American Capitol and climax with scenes from the ‘Save America Rally’ that preceded the siege – literally the ‘calm before the storm’ to use a popular Q slogan. Jim Watkins, the owner of the 8chan website that calls ‘Q’ home, at one point compared the pro-Trump rally to the March On Washington in 1963. The comparison is distorted and lacks even minimal self-awareness, just like QAnon himself . ” Read the rest of Stephen Robinson’s discussion of these important documentation.