Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a documentary television series hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. that premiered on March 25, 2012, on PBS. In each episode, celebrities are presented with a "book of life" that is compiled with information researched by professional genealogists that allows them to view their ancestral histories, learn about familial connections and discover secrets about their lineage.
Each celebrity guest is given a book of life which contains all the information discovered about the guest's genealogy by researchers. Included in or within the book are comprehensive genetic results, a family tree that is as complete as paper research allows, copies of historical records used to assemble each tree and photos of newly found family members. In some episodes, particularly ones in which original DNA profiling research must be used to establish a past ancestor's parental link, guests are reunited with long lost relatives. However, in most episodes, each guest is predominantly shown seated opposite Gates as he guides them through their book of life. To show correlations between the guests' family stories, each episode cuts back and forth between two or three guest stories. To draw further correlations, Gates uses examples from his own genealogy quite frequently. Examples of this would be a grandmother of his having multiple children with a white man whose name she had never revealed, as well as Gates' membership into the Sons of the American Revolution.
In addition to celebrity guests, everyday people are sometimes featured in an episode to create a third or fourth story line. The non-celebrity guests are usually a group of peers. One example of this would be the episode in which Gates has his friends at his local barbershop take a DNA test to determine their ethnic makeup, each friend betting on their percentages of African, European, and Native American genetic heritage. Another episode uses a similar guessing game with students at a local school. Singular secondary guests include Robert Downey Sr. and Margarett Cooper, the latter being a friend of Gates'.[6]
The series has seen two past incarnations on PBS, both of which were hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. In 2006 and 2008, the series African American Lives aired. Both seasons of the series consisted of a season-long storyline as well as an all African American cast. In 2010, Faces of America aired. Though it continued to use the season-long plot from the prior installment, it was the first installment to be hosted by Gates which included Americans of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Starting with Finding Your Roots in 2012, the series changed from a season-long plot to having plots extending only within a single episode. In doing so, it has allowed the series to extend its number of episodes each season to ten, as opposed to the prior four episodes a season.[7]
Ben Affleck controversy
The show's third season was postponed by WNET after it was discovered that actor Ben Affleck had persuaded Gates to omit information about his slave-owning ancestors.[8][9][10] The series returned on January 5, 2016,[11] although "Roots of Freedom", the second-season episode featuring Affleck, was pulled from all forms of distribution by PBS.[12]PBS America, a U.K. TV channel featuring content from PBS in the U.S., continues to feature three clips from the withdrawn episode on its YouTube channel.[13][14][15]
^"Season Six of "Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr." Premieres Fall 2019 and Airs Through Fall 2020 on PBS, Beginning October 8". The Futon Critic. July 29, 2019.
^Williams, Beth (2012). "Genealogy Insider: Behind the Scenes with 'Finding Your Roots'". Family Tree Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
^Hautzinger, Daniel (October 2, 2017). "How Genealogists Find Your Roots". WTTW. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
^"Finding Your Roots – Episodes". PBS. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
^. PBS. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
^Allen, Nick (April 17, 2015). "Ben Affleck's slave-owning ancestor 'censored' from genealogy show". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
^Kirell, Andrew (April 18, 2015). "Ben Affleck Demanded PBS Suppress His Slave-Owning Ancestry". Mediaite. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
^Koblin, John (June 24, 2015). "Citing Ben Affleck's 'Improper Influence,' PBS Suspends 'Finding Your Roots'". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
^Guthrie, Marisa (October 19, 2015). "PBS' 'Finding Your Roots' Returns After Ben Affleck Scandal: "Hard Conversations," More Rigorous Process". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
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Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr is a documentary television series hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr that premiered on March 25 2012 on PBS In each episode celebrities are presented with a book of life that is compiled with information researched by professional genealogists that allows them to view their ancestral histories learn about familial connections and discover secrets about their lineage Finding Your RootsTitle card from the second seasonAlso known asFinding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr GenreFamily history Genealogy Documentary SeriesWritten byHenry Louis Gates Jr Directed byJohn Maggio Jesse Sweet Caitlin McNally Jack Youngelson Sabin Streeter Julia MarchesiPresented byHenry Louis Gates Jr ComposerMichael BaconCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons9No of episodes88 list of episodes ProductionExecutive producerHenry Louis Gates Jr ProducersRachel Dretzin Leslie Asako Gladsjo Dyllan McGee Peter Kunhardt Stephen SegallerRunning time51 53 minutesProduction companiesKunhardt McGee Productions Inkwell Films Ark MediaReleaseOriginal networkPBSPicture formatHDTV 1080iOriginal releaseMarch 25 2012 2012 03 25 present present ChronologyPreceded byFaces of AmericaAll episodes air on Tuesdays 1 2 Season 9 began airing on January 3 2023 3 Contents 1 Premise 2 Episodes 3 Production 3 1 Background 3 2 Ben Affleck controversy 4 Critical reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPremise EditThe series uses traditional genealogical research written records and genetics DNA testing to discover the family history of well known Americans Genetic techniques include Y chromosome DNA mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA analyses to infer both ancient and recent genetic relationships The show s professionals typically spend hundreds of hours researching each guest 4 5 The series has examined the family histories of celebrity guests with African American Asian American British American Chinese American Dutch American Greek American Indian American Irish American Italian American Jewish American and Latin American heritage Each celebrity guest is given a book of life which contains all the information discovered about the guest s genealogy by researchers Included in or within the book are comprehensive genetic results a family tree that is as complete as paper research allows copies of historical records used to assemble each tree and photos of newly found family members In some episodes particularly ones in which original DNA profiling research must be used to establish a past ancestor s parental link guests are reunited with long lost relatives However in most episodes each guest is predominantly shown seated opposite Gates as he guides them through their book of life To show correlations between the guests family stories each episode cuts back and forth between two or three guest stories To draw further correlations Gates uses examples from his own genealogy quite frequently Examples of this would be a grandmother of his having multiple children with a white man whose name she had never revealed as well as Gates membership into the Sons of the American Revolution In addition to celebrity guests everyday people are sometimes featured in an episode to create a third or fourth story line The non celebrity guests are usually a group of peers One example of this would be the episode in which Gates has his friends at his local barbershop take a DNA test to determine their ethnic makeup each friend betting on their percentages of African European and Native American genetic heritage Another episode uses a similar guessing game with students at a local school Singular secondary guests include Robert Downey Sr and Margarett Cooper the latter being a friend of Gates 6 Episodes EditMain article List of Finding Your Roots episodes SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedFirst airedLast aired110March 25 2012 2012 03 25 May 20 2012 2012 05 20 210September 23 2014 2014 09 23 November 25 2014 2014 11 25 310January 5 2016 2016 01 05 March 8 2016 2016 03 08 410October 3 2017 2017 10 03 December 19 2017 2017 12 19 510January 8 2019 2019 01 08 April 9 2019 2019 04 09 616October 8 2019 2019 10 08 January 12 2021 2021 01 12 710January 19 2021 2021 01 19 May 4 2021 2021 05 04 810January 4 2022 2022 01 04 April 19 2022 2022 04 19 910January 3 2023 2023 01 03 March 7 2023 2023 03 07 Production EditBackground Edit The series has seen two past incarnations on PBS both of which were hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr In 2006 and 2008 the series African American Lives aired Both seasons of the series consisted of a season long storyline as well as an all African American cast In 2010 Faces of America aired Though it continued to use the season long plot from the prior installment it was the first installment to be hosted by Gates which included Americans of all ethnic and racial backgrounds Starting with Finding Your Roots in 2012 the series changed from a season long plot to having plots extending only within a single episode In doing so it has allowed the series to extend its number of episodes each season to ten as opposed to the prior four episodes a season 7 Ben Affleck controversy Edit The show s third season was postponed by WNET after it was discovered that actor Ben Affleck had persuaded Gates to omit information about his slave owning ancestors 8 9 10 The series returned on January 5 2016 11 although Roots of Freedom the second season episode featuring Affleck was pulled from all forms of distribution by PBS 12 PBS America a U K TV channel featuring content from PBS in the U S continues to feature three clips from the withdrawn episode on its YouTube channel 13 14 15 Critical reception EditIn 2016 Cal Thomas of The Baltimore Sun wrote that the show was The most compelling television you will ever see 16 In 2015 it was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding News Information Series or Special 17 Lauren Sarner of New York Post wrote Finding Your Roots has become a phenomenon 18 See also EditAfrican American Lives Ancestors in the Attic Faces of America Who Do You Think You Are References Edit Season Six of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr Premieres Fall 2019 and Airs Through Fall 2020 on PBS Beginning October 8 The Futon Critic July 29 2019 TV Schedule PBS Finding Your Roots PBS PBS Williams Beth 2012 Genealogy Insider Behind the Scenes with Finding Your Roots Family Tree Magazine Retrieved July 9 2021 Hautzinger Daniel October 2 2017 How Genealogists Find Your Roots WTTW Retrieved July 9 2021 Finding Your Roots Episodes PBS Retrieved November 22 2014 Finding Your Roots About PBS Archived from the original on September 18 2014 Retrieved September 16 2014 Allen Nick April 17 2015 Ben Affleck s slave owning ancestor censored from genealogy show The Daily Telegraph London Retrieved May 26 2015 Kirell Andrew April 18 2015 Ben Affleck Demanded PBS Suppress His Slave Owning Ancestry Mediaite Retrieved May 26 2015 Koblin John June 24 2015 Citing Ben Affleck s Improper Influence PBS Suspends Finding Your Roots The New York Times New York City Retrieved June 25 2015 Guthrie Marisa October 19 2015 PBS Finding Your Roots Returns After Ben Affleck Scandal Hard Conversations More Rigorous Process The Hollywood Reporter Los Angeles Retrieved October 16 2016 PBS Ben Affleck Finding Your Roots Episode Violated Standards The Hollywood Reporter Los Angeles Associated Press June 24 2015 Retrieved October 27 2018 Finding Your Roots Khandi Alexander PBS America January 8 2015 Retrieved October 27 2018 Finding Your Roots Ben Affleck Freedom Summer PBS America January 8 2015 Retrieved October 27 2018 Finding Your Roots Ben Affleck Civil War PBS America January 8 2015 Retrieved October 27 2018 Thomas Cal January 9 2016 Roots and identity The Baltimore Sun Archived from the original on December 5 2017 Retrieved December 26 2019 Washington Arlene February 6 2015 NAACP Image Awards The Winners The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved July 8 2021 Sarner Lauren January 27 2020 How Finding Your Roots became a cultural phenomenon New York Post Retrieved November 28 2022 External links EditOfficial website Finding Your Roots at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Finding Your Roots amp oldid 1133636520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
