Plot Synopsis

Presented and narrated by renowned theoretical physicist Prof. Stephen Hawking, GENIUS is a six-episode series during which ordinary people are challenged to think like the greatest scientific minds in history in order to solve some of humanity's most enduring questions. Through the use of demonstrations and large-scale experiments, the program decodes the mysteries of evolutionary biology, astrophysics and quantum mechanics, solving questions like "Why am I here?," "Are we alone?" and "Can we travel through time?" Each one-hour episode features a different group of three people with curious minds who must use their own intellect to learn what humanity's most notable thinkers have discovered about the greatest scientific mysteries over the centuries. GENIUS takes its participants back in time -- to ancient Greece, where Eratosthenes calculated the Earth's circumference -- and to more recent history and such thinkers as Edward Hubble, who uncovered and established the distances between our planet and the vast galaxies throughout the universe. In the series premiere, "Can We Time Travel?," three ordinary people take a journey of discovery that features DeLoreans, atomic clocks, a giant black hole and a large swath of New York City.