The Butterfly Effect
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.
Previews + Extras
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.
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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