Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Before the popularity of AncestryDNA, journalist and cultural critic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. divulges the family trees of various celebrities, many times with stunning revelations.

Genre: DocumentaryBiographyHistory

Cast:Henry Louis Gates Jr.CeCe MooreMia FarrowAnita HillTy BurrellSterling K. BrownKehinde WileyCory BookerTina FeySally FieldAngela BassettStingAnderson CooperTony KushnerNasAarón SánchezDerek JeterGeorge Stephanopoulos


1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ The Impression

Tue, Oct 3, 2017

Comedian Larry David and leftist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, whom David famously impersonated on Saturday Night Live (1975), learn about the horrors their ancestors faced. They also discover that they have more in common than they thought.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Unfamiliar Kin

Tue, Oct 10, 2017

In an episode filled with incredible twists and turns, actor Christopher Walken, singer Carly Simon, and comedian Fred Armisen, each learn about a grandparent whose real identity and background had been a mystery to them.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Puritans and Pioneers

Tue, Oct 17, 2017

Actors Ted Danson, his wife Mary Steenburgen, and William H. Macy, are three mainstays of modern-day Hollywood, who discover that their family legacies predate the United States, itself.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ The Vanguard

Oct 2017

Three guests, journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, film director Ava DuVernay and transgender activist Janet Mock, find their identities challenged. By placing their ancestors' lives in the context of history, they gain an appreciation for their family narratives and see how those narratives illustrate the diversity of the black experience.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ Immigrant Nation

Tue, Oct 31, 2017

Three guests, actress Scarlett Johansson, comedian Paul Rudd and actor John Turturro, explore the tremendous challenges faced by their immigrant forebears.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Black Like Me

Tue, Nov 7, 2017

Three African-American guests, TV host Bryant Gumbel, producer Tonya Lewis-Lee and CNN journalist Suzanne Malveaux, delve deep into their family trees, discovering unexpected stories that challenge our assumptions about black history.

7Season 4

S4.E7 ∙ Children of the Revolution

Tue, Nov 14, 2017

Three guests, actress Lupita Nyong'o, NBA star Carmelo Anthony and Republican strategist Ana Navarro, explore how their family trees were shaped by political turmoil and violence, discovering sometimes unexpected ancestry along the way.

8Season 4

S4.E8 ∙ Relatives We Never Knew We Had

Tue, Nov 21, 2017

Actresses Téa Leoni and Gaby Hoffman, two guests whose lives have been shaped by family mysteries, are introduced to biological ancestors they never knew they had thanks to genetic detective work.

9Season 4

S4.E9 ∙ Southern Roots

Tue, Dec 12, 2017

Musician Questlove, TV personality Dr. Phil and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, three guests of disparate backgrounds, dig into their Southern roots, where slavery and its aftermath shaped families both black and white.

10Season 4

S4.E10 ∙ Funny Business

Tue, Dec 19, 2017

Humorist Garrison Keillor (replaced by earlier Maya Rudolph story), comedienne Amy Schumer and comedian Aziz Ansari, who have found fame mining their family stories for comedy, learn about ancestors who overcame immense suffering.