Finding Your Roots

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.

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.

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.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets actor Sharon Stone and model Chrissy Teigen--two stars who found fame when they were young and 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.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family trees of celebrity chefs José Andrés and Sean Sherman--two men who have combined culinary skills with profound humanitarian goals. Traveling from Spain to Native American lands in the Dakotas, Gates explores where these qualities came from, revealing that the ancestors of José and Sean have hidden connections to key moments in history--and to food.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Rubén Blades and journalist Natalie Morales uncover their roots in Latin America, revealing secrets their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal. Traveling from Puerto Rico to Colombia to Brazil, Gates and his guests recover long-lost family stories—meet heroes and villains—and celebrate the virtue of accepting one’s relatives, whoever they may be.

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.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actors Debra Messing and Melanie Lynskey to ancestors who made 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.

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.

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.