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FINDING YOUR ROOTS: Season 5

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (right) with actor Michael K. Williams (left) while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.
Courtesy of McGee Media/Ark Media
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (right) with actor Michael K. Williams (left) while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

Tuesdays, Jan. 8 - Feb. 26 & April 2 & 9, 2019 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Season 5 Features 10 New Episodes!

Season 5 features an array of celebrated guests who are cultural trailblazers with fascinating family stories, including Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei; Emmy and Golden Globe Award winners Laura Linney and S. Epatha Merkerson; and actors Michael K. Williams, Andy Samberg, Chloë Sevigny and Kal Penn.

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This season also includes superstar author George R.R. Martin; acclaimed journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry, Joe Madison and Lisa Ling; bestselling author and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg; TV hosts Seth Meyers and Michael Strahan; artists Marina Abramovic and Kehinde Wiley; politicians Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard and Paul Ryan; Academy Award-winning filmmakers Alejandro Innaritu and Michael Moore; and comedians Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman.

Inside Look | Season 5

The roots of these guests cover the globe — from Samoa, Nigeria, Taiwan and Sicily to Iran, Ireland, India and Cuba — and almost everywhere in between.

Their family trees are filled with compelling characters — slaves and kings, artists and entrepreneurs, abandoned children and missing parents, revolutionaries, soldiers, and a constant flow of ordinary individuals who did remarkable things, laying the groundwork for their successful descendants.

Each episode weaves together these stories, gleaned from cutting-edge DNA analysis and old school genealogical detective work.

At the center of it all, guiding every discovery, is host and executive producer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research.

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Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with journalist Christiane Amanpour while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.
Courtesy of McGee Media/Ark Media
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with journalist Christiane Amanpour while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

“I find it inspiring that our fellow Americans are so determined to explore their own ancestral heritage,” said Gates, “precisely at a time when immigration has become such a deeply controversial and sensitive matter. Our series demonstrates each week, in vivid detail and with moving storytelling, that a continuing source of strength for our country is the fact that we are a nation of immigrants. That we can serve as both guide and inspiration to the splendidly exciting pleasure of finding one’s roots is an immense honor. I believe that the more each of us understands about where we came from, about what our ancestors experienced, and how those experiences have shaped us, whether we knew about them or not, the more richly we can live our lives.”

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with Kal Penn while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.
Courtesy of McGee Media/Ark Media
Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with Kal Penn while taping FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Episode 1: “Grandparents And Other Strangers” airs Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. - Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actor Andy Samberg and author George R. R. Martin answer some family mysteries when DNA detective work uncovers new branches of their family trees. The DNA analysis upends family history and reveals new relatives.

Episode 2: “Mystery Men” airs Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Felicity Huffman and Michael K. Williams discover a wealth of hidden family history. Both grew up knowing little about their biological fathers, and seeing their lost ancestry restored proves deeply empowering.

Episode 3: “Reporting On The Reporters” airs Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. - Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling that the stories within their own family trees are every bit as compelling as the news stories they have been covering for the world.

Episode 4: “Dreaming Of A New Land” airs Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores with Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn the tremendous challenges faced by their immigrant forebears. From Italy, Russia and India to America, their histories show success could take generations to achieve.

Episode 5: “Freedom Tales” airs Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. - Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delves deep into the roots of two African-American guests, actor S. Epatha Merkerson and athlete and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history.

Episode 6: “Roots In Politics” airs Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. - Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the diverse family histories of politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio. They each see a shared vision of the great American melting pot reflected in their ancestors’ stories.

Episode 7: “No Laughing Matter” airs Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman that their family trees are filled with people whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success. Gates also reveals to each one news of an unexpected DNA cousin.

Episode 8: “Hard Times” airs Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. - Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family stories of filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloë Sevigny—three people whose distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today.

Episode 9: “The Eye Of The Beholder” airs Tuesday, April 2 at 8 p.m. - Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares the family histories of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, iconoclastic performance artist Marina Abramović and painter Kehinde Wiley.

Episode 10: “All In The Family” airs Tuesday, April 9 at 8 p.m. - The family stories of actor Ty Burrell, and radio host Joe Madison. Also a look at how a summer camp for children is using genetic genealogy to help young people better understand their burgeoning identities.

FINDING YOUR ROOTS GENETICS AND GENEALOGY CURRICULUM

In a very personal episode, the new season also explores Gates’ own DNA story and takes a look at how science and history can inspire the next generation.

Concerned about the lack of diversity in STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Gates worked with Penn State professor Nina Jablonski and a committed group of historians, artists, biologists, geneticists, anthropologists, genealogists and educators to develop the “Finding Your Roots Genetics and Genealogy Curriculum,” an educational model that invited students to consider who they are genetically, geologically/socio-culturally and intentionally.

Once designed, the team piloted the curriculum in a two-week camp environment at two different locations in the U.S., where students developed hypotheses and research protocols.

The project video won Facilitator’s Choice and Viewer’s Choice awards at the 2018 STEM For All Video Showcase, receiving tens of thousands of unique visitors from 154 countries.

Assembling the extensive family trees and family narratives alongside Dr. Gates are DNA expert CeCe Moore (Founder, The DNA Detective) and expert genealogist Johni Cerny (Founder, Lineages).

Watch 9 episodes with the young scientists who took part in the very first Finding Your Roots Genetics and Genealogy camp!

WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE:

Full episodes from Season 5 will be available to view on demand for a limited time after broadcast. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members ($60 yearly) using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn more and activate your benefit now.

Catch up! Watch Seasons 1-4 on KPBS Passport now.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

Explore and share your family histories via social media, using the hashtag #FindingYourRoots.

FINDING YOUR ROOTS is on Facebook. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is on Facebook, Instagram, and you can follow @HenryLouisGates on Twitter.

CREDITS:

A production of McGee Media, Inkwell Films, Kunhardt Films and WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Ark Media. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the writer, host, and executive producer. Dyllan McGee and Peter Kunhardt are executive producers. Dalton Delan and Anne Harrington are executive producers in charge for WETA. Bill Gardner is the executive in charge for PBS. Sabin Streeter of Ark Media is the senior producer. Hanna Olson is the series producer. Hazel Gurland-Pooler and Sabin Streeter are directors.