Finding Your Roots

Culture Series / 4 Seasons

For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.

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Out of the Past

S9 E10 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the lost roots of actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley, traveling back generations to recount significant events in history—from the American Revolution to the journey of the Mayflower—in a deeply personal way.

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Anchormen

S9 E9 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces trail-blazing journalists Jim Acosta and Van Jones to the ancestors who blazed a trail for them, meeting runaway slaves and immigrant settlers who took enormous chances so that their descendants might thrive.

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And Still I Rise

S9 E8 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the unexpected family trees of activist Angela Y. Davis and statesman Jeh Johnson, using DNA and long-lost records to redefine notions of the black experience—and challenge preconceptions of America’s past.

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Chosen

S9 E7 / 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates helps actors David Duchovny and Richard Kind trace their roots from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe to the United States—telling stories of triumph and tragedy that laid the groundwork for his guest’s success.

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Family: Lost and Found

S9 E6 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates uses DNA detective work to solve haunting family mysteries for actor Joe Manganiello and football star Tony Gonzalez. Sifting through stories of the Armenian Genocide, the rise of Nazi Germany, the Jim Crow South, slavery, and the American Revolution, Gates unravels deep secrets and uncovers lost ancestors--compelling each of his guests to rethink their own identities.

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Rising From the Ashes

S9 E5 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates traces the roots of actors Brian Cox and Viola Davis—two people who overcame traumatic childhoods, revealing that they aren’t the first in their families to face enormous odds. From workhouses in Scotland to slave plantations in South Carolina, long-lost records reveal the stories of ancestors who laid the groundwork for Brian and Viola’s success by fighting so hard to survive.

Far from Home

S9 E4 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the family trees of pop icon Cyndi Lauper and actors Jamie Chung and Danny Trejo, exploring records in Italy, Korea, and Mexico to uncover ancestors whose stories were lost when their families immigrated to America.

Secret Lives

S9 E3 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps comedians Carol Burnett and Niecy Nash decode scandals hidden within their roots, exposing secrets that their ancestors concealed and celebrating the virtue of accepting one’s relatives—whoever they may be.

Salem's Lot

S9 E2 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes actors Claire Danes and Jeff Daniels on a journey into their roots, uncovering primal scenes from our nation’s past. Weaving together stories of soldiers, settlers, immigrants and entrepreneurs, Gates travels from World War I battlefields to Civil War prison camps to America’s most infamous witch hunt—offering his guests insight into what made them who they are today.

Hidden Kin

S9 E1 / 52m 11s / TV-PG

Henry Louis Gates explores the remarkable roots of actors Edward Norton and Julia Roberts—using DNA analysis and genealogical detective work to travel generations into the past, tracing lineages that run from Northern Europe to the American South. Along the way, Norton and Roberts reimagine their family stories and discover their hidden connections to our nation’s history—and each other.

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