User Reviews

Cynthia Erivo once again shows her talent. Few would even attempt to take on Aretha let alone do her justice. As for those complaining that the time lines jump back/forth, sorry that you have to pay attention. People have been spoon feed so long, they have forgotten that entertainment can also make you think. It's important to show how decisions/actions from Aretha's and her father's past influenced her art/music. If they has simply followed a straightforward timeline, these connections would have been diminished. As for the music, Erivo invokes Aretha's style without doing an imitation. Watch her perform 'Change Is Gonna Come' - it's the highpoint of a very good series.

If you are a fan of music legends, and you watched Ray, well Genius Aretha is something to watch and enjoy, even though It reveals things that happened in her life The Franklin family may not want aired, it makes me RESPECT The Queen even more, people, check it out.

Like most people we all have grown up with this amazing abs talented artist. Actors were superb and storyline filled in many unknown gaps of this superstar. I applaud the excellent work, Aretha's life which follows both her very highest moments and her difficult periods in life. A stellar performance and well worth watching. Applause applause!

Erivo and Vance are amazing! So is the rest of the cast!!! Loved every minute! The music is fantastic!!

Cynthia and the other actors did an excellent job on the series. Watch with an open mind. Cynthia transform her singing voice & talk to match Aretha. Everyone involved in this series deserves all the awards.

Aretha Franklin's music genius from a young girl through to adulthood is outlined. Ms. Franklin's challenging relationship with the three key men in her life, her preacher father C.L. Franklin, her abusive and controlling agent/husband Ted White, and her music producer mentor Jerry Wexler are outlined. This first episode focuses more on her emotional state trying to balance work and life with her father, and her agent/husband Ted White who was eleven (11) years her senior when she married him at age nineteen (19).

I would have liked to have heard more of her music and less of the control her husband Ted White attempted to place on her career and interactions with her recording artist studio musicians.

What spoils this first episode were the more than frequent TV commercial breaks. If you ever played one of Ms. Franklin's many hit songs on an old fashioned record player and her tune was interrupted by the record skipping, than that is what I felt the constant barrage of TV commercials accomplished by spoiling the flow of this first episode.

Even with the constant TV commercial interruptions I give this first episode a RESPECTable 8 out of 10 IMDB rating.

This is probably the closest we'll come to knowing the truth about Arethas life. I get the feeling she didn't like people in her business. The program is entertaining and even the flashback scenes fit in nicely. Ready to watch the rest of it and I even want to watch the other Genius.

I so liked the previous seasons but the Director (writer?) messed this up. How? By playing only lesser songs and merely mentioning those that brought her to fame. Nessum Dorma may be the exception to this. Why can't they just tell a story from beginning to end, instead of flashing back/forward? If done well, flashbacks in a story can effectively emphasize a point or story line. Done poorly, or overdone - as it is in the first 2-3 episodes - it just plain takes away from the story. I wanted to like this story, but was just too disjointed. Thirdly - the actress portraying her was great, but Aretha comes off as self-centered, with Daddy issues. I saw no greatness.

I waited so long for this Genius: Aretha series to finally air, and now that it has I'm really disappointed.

I'm a real fan of Cynthia Erivo - her voice is amazing! And Courtney B. Vance as the Reverend Franklin is surprisingly good! Overall the acting by the entire cast is very entertaining.

But after watching the first 2 episodes what's ruining it for me is the excessive commercial breaks which seem to be thrown in right in the middle of a scene, and the constant switching back and forth between time periods. It's an editing disaster!

I'll watch the rest of the series because of the aforementioned acting and singing, but I think it could have been soooo much better...

The actors all of them are equals to a high school production at best How could a show about the queen of SOUL have NO SOUL terrible

There's not enough suspension of disbelief in the world to believe Cynthia Erivo's portrayal of Aretha Franklin. And to say it made me cringe is an understatement. The Queen of Soul deserved so much better than this eyerollingly bad interpretation. Much like Green Book, the family, who knew her much better than any of us, didn't approve of this dreck and are boycotting it. And it appears that a lot of people are ignoring their feelings about their loved one. This series feels exploitative, and the further you got into the series, it truly was. Cynthia Erivo doesn't embody the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin. Yes she can sing, but there's zero spirituality and emotions in the way she delivers Aretha's songs. Aretha could give you chills when she sang, Erivo just makes you want to throw something at the TV. I can't wait for the film Respect later in the year. Now that will be spectacular.

Looks like I'm going to skip this season. There's just nothing interesting about any aspect of this portrayal, and just has bad vibes all around.