Finding My Roots
In a unique and highly emotional episode, actor Laurence Fishburne is joined by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.—who finds himself a guest on his own show for the first time. Both men have been haunted by profound family mysteries for years. Cutting-edge DNA detective work will solve those mysteries—introducing Laurence and Henry to ancestors whose names they have longed to hear.
Episodes
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Finding My Roots
S11 E10 - 52m 10s
In a unique and highly emotional episode, actor Laurence Fishburne is joined by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.—who finds himself a guest on his own show for the first time. Both men have been haunted by profound family mysteries for years. Cutting-edge DNA detective work will solve those mysteries—introducing Laurence and Henry to ancestors whose names they have longed to hear.
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Moving On Up
S11 E9 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actor Sheryl Lee Ralph and historian Lonnie Bunch—two African Americans whose ancestors broke boundaries as they moved from slavery to freedom. Traveling from plantations in the south to cities in the north, Gates uses his detective skills to piece together the lives of women and men who survived unimaginable ordeals—and emerged to forge thriving families.
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The Butterfly Effect
S11 E8 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Debra Messing & Melanie Lynskey to ancestors who made bold decisions that forever reshaped their family trees. Moving from shtetls in Eastern Europe to a fruit stand in NY City to the wilds of New Zealand, Gates introduces his guests to relatives who took great risks, overcame enormous hardships—and unwittingly transformed the lives of their descendants.
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The Ties That Bind
S11 E7 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard—a married couple who discover that their ancestors had some remarkable similarities. In stories that span continents and centuries, Gates introduces Kristen and Dax to the soldiers, settlers, and criminals who make up their roots, allowing his guests to understand themselves—and their families--as never before.
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Latin Roots
S11 E6 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Rubén Blades & journalist Natalie Morales uncover their hidden roots in Latin America, revealing secrets that their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal. Traveling from Puerto Rico to Columbia to Brazil, Gates & his guests recover long-lost family stories—meet heroes and villains--and celebrate the virtue of accepting one’s relatives whoever they may be.
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Family Recipes
S11 E5 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family trees of celebrity chefs José Andrés & Sean Sherman—two men who have combined culinary skills with profound humanitarian goals. Traveling from small-town Spain to Native American lands in the Dakotas, Gates explores where these qualities came from, revealing that the ancestors of José & Sean have hidden connections to key moments in history—and to food.
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Dreamers One And All
S11 E4 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actor Sharon Stone & model Chrissy Teigen—two stars who found fame when they were young & lived much of their lives in the limelight, knowing little about their roots. Gates reveals they aren’t the first people in their families who dared to dream big, tracing lineages from Eastern Europe to Medieval France to rural Thailand.
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Stranger Than Fiction
S11 E3 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of two award-winning writers: novelist Amy Tan and poet Rita Dove, tracing lineages that run from a plantation in Maryland to a speakeasy in Washington, DC to a village in central China. Along the way, Amy and Rita reimagine themselves as they learn the true stories of the people who laid the groundwork for their success—and inspired their art.
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La Famiglia
S11 E2 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family trees of talk show host Joy Behar and actor Michael Imperioli—two Americans whose roots stretch back to small towns in Calabria, Italy. Joy and Michael’s families lived in these towns for centuries, but their stories were lost on the journey to America. Gates reveals the challenges that their ancestors faced—and overcame—on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Larger Than Life
S11 E1 - 52m 10s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Lea Salonga and Amanda Seyfried to ancestors who are every bit as dramatic as the characters they’ve played on stage and screen. Moving from a naval base in the Philippines to a small town bakery in Pennsylvania to steamships on the Atlantic Ocean, Lea and Amanda hear stories of relatives who survived wars, murders, and heart-wrenching ordeals.
Extras + Features
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Skip Discovers His Great-Great-Grandfather
S11 E10 - 4m 14s
Skip discusses Jane Gates, his oldest known ancestor up until now. He then learns the truth about who his great-great-grandfather is.
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Laurence Learns About His Great-Great-Great-Grandmother
S11 E10 - 4m 12s
Laurence discovers the identity of his great-great-great-grandmother.
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Finding My Roots Preview
S11 E10 - 30s
In a unique and highly emotional episode, actor Laurence Fishburne is joined by scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.—who finds himself a guest on his own show for the first time. Both men have been haunted by profound family mysteries for years. Cutting-edge DNA detective work will solve those mysteries—introducing Laurence and Henry to ancestors whose names they have longed to hear.
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Lonnie Bunch Discovers His Grandfather's Heroic Educationonal Efforts
S11 E9 - 3m 41s
Lonnie learns about his grandfather Jesse who served on a school committee for the local school of Black students. However, his role was eventually terminated during the rise of Jim Crow, and he ended up purchasing his own farmland, the same land that Lonnie visited in his teenage years.
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Moving On Up Preview
S11 E9 - 30s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actor Sheryl Lee Ralph and historian Lonnie Bunch—two African Americans whose ancestors broke boundaries as they moved from slavery to freedom. Traveling from plantations in the south to cities in the north, Gates uses his detective skills to piece together the lives of women and men who survived unimaginable ordeals—and emerged to forge thriving families.
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The Surprising Love Story in Sheryl Lee Ralph's Ancestry
S11 E9 - 4m 9s
Sheryl's discovers her third great grandparents, a mixed race couple, got married in 1837.
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Melanie Lynskey Learns of a Long-Lost Relative
S11 E8 - 4m 21s
Melanie discovers a potential match for her great-grandfather.
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The Butterfly Effect Preview
S11 E8 - 30s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Debra Messing & Melanie Lynskey to ancestors who made bold decisions that forever reshaped their family trees. Moving from shtetls in Eastern Europe to a fruit stand in NY City to the wilds of New Zealand, Gates introduces his guests to relatives who took great risks, overcame enormous hardships—and unwittingly transformed the lives of their descendants.
-
Debra Messing's Polish Ancestors Voyaged to New York
S11 E8 - 3m 53s
Debra discovers her grandfather's earliest years in America after leaving Poland and moving to the Lower East Side.
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Dax Shepard's Ninth Great-Grandfather Journeyed to America
S11 E7 - 4m 56s
Dax hears about the life of his ninth great-grandfather who immigrated from France to Canada, and ultimately settled in Michigan.
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Kristen Bell Learns of Family's Generational Trauma
S11 E7 - 5m 10s
Kristen Bell learns about her grandfather and great grandfather's generational trauma, with lives of siblings and a parent lost.
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The Ties That Bind Preview
S11 E7 - 30s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard—a married couple who discover that their ancestors had some remarkable similarities. In stories that span continents and centuries, Gates introduces Kristen and Dax to the soldiers, settlers, and criminals who make up their roots, allowing his guests to understand themselves—and their families—as never before.
Schedule
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Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Wednesday
Apr 23
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
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Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Wednesday
Apr 23
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
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Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Saturday
Apr 26
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Sunday
Apr 27
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Sunday
Apr 27
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Sunday
Apr 27
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Monday
Apr 28
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Out of the Past
Monday
Apr 28
1 Hour
Actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley uncover their lost roots. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Tuesday
Apr 29
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
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Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Tuesday
Apr 29
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
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Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Wednesday
Apr 30
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Wednesday
Apr 30
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Wednesday
Apr 30
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Wednesday
Apr 30
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Saturday
May 3
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Sunday
May 4
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Monday
May 5
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
Image
Finding Your Roots
Forever Young
Monday
May 5
1 Hour
Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser explore their family histories. -
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Finding Your Roots
Children of Exile
Tuesday
May 6
1 Hour
The family histories of David Chang and Raúl Esparza. -
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Finding Your Roots
Children of Exile
Tuesday
May 6
1 Hour
The family histories of David Chang and Raúl Esparza.
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