Aretha Franklin is Nat Geo's next Genius

Los Angeles - The late singer Aretha Franklin will be the subject of the National Geographic network's third instalment of its Genius series.

The network said on Sunday that its next miniseries will feature the Queen of Soul, who died last year. She's pushing author Mary Shelley back. National Geographic said last year that the Frankenstein author would be its third Genius, but said on Sunday that Shelley will be used for a later season.

Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso were the first two focuses of the Genius series.

Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks will be the executive producer running the show. Music moguls Clive Davis and Craig Kellman of Atlantic Records will also offer their expertise, said Courteney Monroe, National Geographic president.

"We could not be more excited about this next season," she said.

.@NatGeoChannel announces #ArethaFranklin as subject of the next season of the Emmy-nominated series @NatGeoGenius from Imagine Entertainment, @BrianGrazer & @RealRonHoward. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright @suzanloriparks will serve as Executive Producer & showrunner. #TCA19 pic.twitter.com/F7OWDXGNoJ

— Nat Geo PR (@NatGeoPR) February 10, 2019