Finding Your Roots

Where Did We Come From?

52m 16s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.

Episodes

Where Did We Come From?

S8 E10 - 52m 16s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.
Watchmen

S8 E9 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.
Songs of the Past

S8 E8 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. accompanies Broadway stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nathan Lane as they meet a cast of inspiring ancestors hidden in the branches of their family trees.
Forgotten Journeys

S8 E7 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps John Leguizamo and Lena Waithe retrace the paths of their ancestors, uncovering crucial pieces of their own identities that were lost on the journey to America.
Fighters

S8 E6 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren’t the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.
Mexican Roots

S8 E5 - 52m 16s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.
Things We Don't Discuss

S8 E4 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. works with Pamela Adlon and Kathryn Hahn, two guests whose family trees were obscured by scandals, to discover the truth about their ancestors.
Children of Exile

S8 E3 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.
Activist Roots

S8 E2 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. welcomes Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Anita Hill, two guests who made profound sacrifices for social justice, and helps them discover the ancestors who made sacrifices for them.
Hidden in the Genes

S8 E1 - 52m 11s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps Rebecca Hall and Lee Daniels solve family mysteries through DNA detective work, illuminating both history and their own identities.

Extras + Features

Amy Carlson Loves Her Great-Great Grandparents’ Meet-Cute

S8 E10 - 42s

"That’s how life happens sometimes, right? Totally by accident.” Amy Carlson reacts to learning about the adorable way her great-great-grandparents met while immigrating from Sweden.
Erin Burnett Learns About Her Ancestors’ Rare Divorce

S8 E10 - 1m 27s

In 1880, divorce in New York City was so exceedingly rare (only 0.2%!) that the divorce of Erin Burnett’s great-great-grandfather from his first wife made headlines in several newspapers.
André Leon Talley: “Everyone in That Church was a Queen”

S8 E10 - 56s

André Leon Talley’s fashion muse was none other than his grandmother. He said that she was a domestic worker for 50 years, but she “rose to her regality every Sunday when she put on that hat.”
André Leon Talley Grandfather Was Stationed in France

S8 E10 - 1m 42s

Fashion icon and Francophile André Leon Talley was pleased to discover that his grandfather was stationed in France when he served in World War I.
Amy Carlson Admires Her Sixth-Great Grandmother’s Stoicism

S8 E10 - 36s

When Amy Carlson's sixth great-grandfather died in battle after 26 years in the Swedish military, one of his son's replaced him in service. Here, Amy admires the stoicism it must have taken for her sixth-great-grandmother to accept her son's decision.
Where Did We Come From? Preview

S8 E10 - 32s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.
André Leon Talley Stunned by Ancestor’s Bequeathment

S8 E10 - 55s

André Leon Talley and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discussed how his great-great-grandfather’s bequeathment from a slave owner to his child was similar to how a car or piano would get passed down in a will.
Erin Burnett Reads Her Great-Grandmother’s Baptism Record

S8 E10 - 1m 14s

“It’s pretty amazing. From another country, another place, and yet tied directly to me." Erin Burnett reads the baptism record of her great-grandmother, who was born shortly after the great potato famine in Ireland.
Watchmen Preview

S8 E9 - 32s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.
Regina King: “This is Pretty Fantastic”

S8 E9 - 1m 20s

“Even though he couldn’t read, and he couldn’t write, he could feel.” Regina King sheds tears of joy while reading the voter registration card of her third-great-grandfather, who registered only two years after slavery ended.
Damon Lindelof Learns of the Horrific Fate of Relatives

S8 E9 - 2m 7s

"It's somewhat an affirmation of survival, in some strange way." Damon Lindelof learns that the World Holocaust Remembrance Center documents the killing of an entire family of his relatives by Nazis in the ghettos of Bialystok, Poland.
We’re Two Generations Removed From Potential Obliteration

S8 E9 - 1m 32s

Damon Lindelof reads an account of the atrocities committed by Nazi troops in 1941 when they invaded Bialystok, Poland, the hometown of his relatives, and created a Jewish ghetto.

Schedule

Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Tuesday
May 24

8:00 pm

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Tuesday
May 24

8:00 pm

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Wednesday
May 25

1:00 am

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Wednesday
May 25

2:00 am

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Saturday
May 28

7:00 pm

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Breaking the Silences

Saturday
May 28

11:00 pm

1 Hour

Journalist Gayle King, film director Jordan Peele and comic Issa Rae explore their family secrets.
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Finding Your Roots

Dreaming of a New Land

Tuesday
May 31

8:00 pm

1 Hour

Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn learn about the challenges faced by their immigrant ancestors, who came to America from Italy, Russia and India.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Dreaming of a New Land

Tuesday
May 31

8:00 pm

1 Hour

Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn learn about the challenges faced by their immigrant ancestors, who came to America from Italy, Russia and India.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Homecomings

Tuesday
May 31

9:00 pm

1 Hour

Sterling K. Brown, Jon Batiste and Sasheer Zamata learn about the unexpected places their ancestors called home.
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Finding Your Roots

Homecomings

Tuesday
May 31

9:00 pm

1 Hour

Sterling K. Brown, Jon Batiste and Sasheer Zamata learn about the unexpected places their ancestors called home.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Dreaming of a New Land

Wednesday
Jun 1

1:00 am

1 Hour

Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn learn about the challenges faced by their immigrant ancestors, who came to America from Italy, Russia and India.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Homecomings

Wednesday
Jun 1

2:00 am

1 Hour

Sterling K. Brown, Jon Batiste and Sasheer Zamata learn about the unexpected places their ancestors called home.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Dreaming of a New Land

Wednesday
Jun 1

2:00 am

1 Hour

Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn learn about the challenges faced by their immigrant ancestors, who came to America from Italy, Russia and India.
Image

Finding Your Roots

Homecomings

Wednesday
Jun 1

3:00 am

1 Hour

Sterling K. Brown, Jon Batiste and Sasheer Zamata learn about the unexpected places their ancestors called home.

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