In “Genius: Aretha,” Cynthia Erivo starts as the Queen of Soul in National Geographic’s latest limited series

The eight-part season is centered on the life of musician and civil rights leader Aretha Franklin. “Genius: Aretha” premiered on March 21 on National Geographic, and two new episodes aired on the following days.

All episodes began to be available for streaming on Hulu the day after it debuted on National Geographic.

Franklin was a gospel prodigy, an outspoken civil rights leader, and widely considered the greatest singer of the past decades, receiving countless honors throughout her career.

In the series were taught that Franklin taught herself to play the piano and is regarded as one of the world’s bestselling musical artists of all time, with more than 75 million records sold globally during her career.

“Genius:Aretha” is one of the two major Franklin projects expected this year. The MGM film “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, is due to release on August 13, 2021. Both projects were delayed because of COVID-19.

Senior Arianne Cendon feels like the series can really capture Aretha Franklin’s personality and a part of her life that was previously unknown.

“I loved this series. It illuminates a part of Aretha Franklin’s personality and life previously unknown. After watching it I can now understand how she managed her life behind her music,” she said.

The show does not include Aretha’s biggest hits since it does not have the blessing of her family. Nevertheless it’s still an amazing show.

Senior Andrea Vasquez thinks it’s very hard to interpret Aretha Franklin but Cynthia Erivo did an amazing job interpreting the Queen of Soul.

“I think it’s very hard to act as Aretha Franklin because there will only be one Aretha and she is hard to act, but Cynthia Erivo did a very good job,” said Vasquez.