The creators of the National Geographic Channel television show "Genius" have chosen the actor to play one of the most renowned painters of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. The actor is none other than Alex Rich.
Rich will be playing the younger version of Picasso to depict his early life, and will be sharing the role with Hollywood veteran Spanish bred actor, Antonio Banderas. Banderas will be playing the influential painter at the pinnacle of his success, which will be further explored in the upcoming second season.
In a report by Deadline, Rich may have been seen previously from his stints in the Netflix show "GLOW" and the crime-thriller HBO series "True Detective." The cast members from the first season will be pretty much intact, with Samantha Colley who will now be playing Dora Maar, as one of Picasso's love interests.
Also, T.R. Knight will be making a return as Max Jacob, a close personal friend of the artist, as well as Seth Gabel, who plays Guillaume Apollinaire, a poet and friend who frequently did collaborations with the Spanish painter.
However, what is different this time around is that Fox 21 Television Studios will be taking over the show, with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard still as the executive producers. Ken Biller, the writer of the first season will also be returning.
According to Variety, there is a lot of ground to cover for such a project since Picasso's work spanned more than 80 years. Picasso created an estimated 50,000 works, and is displayed in the most distinguished art galleries in museums all over the world. The second season will have 10 episodes.
As much as Picasso's work made an impact in art and creativity, it would appear that the upcoming season of "Genius" will be focusing on his personal life as well, which is why the showrunners decided to cast Rich.
"Genius" season 2 will premiere sometime in 2018.
