News

In the wake of Aretha Franklin’s death in 2018, competing biopics on the Queen of Soul were announced: one coming to movie screens and the other making up the third season of National Geographic’s anthology series “Genius.” Both biopics were delayed by a year because of the global pandemic, and now “Genius: Aretha” is the first release to set the tone for our view of Franklin as a performer, a legend, and a woman.

The series starts with a grown Aretha (Cynthia Erivo) arriving at Muscle Shoals to work under acclaimed music producer Jerry Wexler (David Cross). She’s brought along her husband, Ted White (Malcolm Barrett) and almost immediately the dynamic between the pair is evident. It also introduces one of the more frustrating things about “Genius: Aretha”: It’s a biography told with a muddled chronology, and this storytelling technique is distracting and confounding.

In this...

National Geographic’s forthcoming Genius: Aretha will no longer debut on May 25. The limited series about the legendary singer Aretha Franklin starring Cynthia Erivo will premiere at a later to-be-announced date due to production delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The statement below was sent to Deadline from National Geographic.

More from DeadlineABC News' Jonathan Karl On The "Troubling" Aspects Of 'The Trump Show' During Coronavirus Crisis - Q&ACoronavirus: U.S. Now Has Most Cases Worldwide As Death Toll Passes 2,400 - UpdateIf History Asserts Itself, Hollywood And Its Film Academy Will Rise To The Coronavirus Fight

Production on National Geographic’s limited series Genius: Aretha (from Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television Studios) remains suspended and it has become clear that the series will not be completed in time for our previously announced Memorial Day airdate. We look forward to resuming work as soon as is possible and safe,...

T.I. is set to recur on Genius: Aretha, the next installment of Nat Geo’s popular anthology from Imagine Television and Fox 21 TV Studios that stars Cynthia Erivo as the Queen of Soul.

Antonique Smith and Tina Fears also have joined the project as recurring, while Ethan Henry is set to guest star as Mlk, Jr. Most of the castings happened just before Genius: Aretha, like every other TV series and movies in production, shut down a week and a half ago over the escalating coronavirus-related health crisis.

More from DeadlineCoronavirus: Disney TV Studios Shuts Down Production On 'Genius: Aretha', Postpones Filming On All PilotsNat Geo's 'Genius: Aretha' Team Unpacks The Genius Of The Legendary Singer - TCA'Genius: Aretha': Nat Geo Series Adds Seven To Cast

Additionally, on what would’ve been Aretha Franklin’s 78th birthday today, March 25, Nat Geo released a new image from the show featuring Erivo as the music legend.

A new independently shot zombie themed film is just completing and this latest feature takes place in Iowa. In the Collapse, a family tries to stay alive under zombie attack. There are also issues of starvation, with the family's patriarch using shotgun and radio transmissions to stay alive. How long will they last?

The film's first trailer is hosted below, along with the poster for the Collapse (seen left). This film is currently working on sound, so a release is not far off. Preview the film in all its chaotic madness below.

Directors: Jason Bolinger, and Insane Mike Saunders.

Writer: Insane Mike Saunders.

Producers: Bruce Elgin, Erin Heppner-Elgin and Page Ostrow.

Cast: Chris Mulkey, Karen Landry, Travis Slade Reinders, Linnea Quigley, Angela Dezen, Michael Cornelison, Clint Curtis, Mike Tweeton, Ray H. Thompson, Justin Marxen, Ethan Henry, Troy Hollatz, and Justin Beahm.

The trailer for the Collapse is here:

The film's...