TV One’s 30th-anniversary telecast of groundbreaking mini-series Rootswill be a week-long event hostedby cast members of the award-winning production.
The Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award- and Peabody Award-winning miniseries -- which follows several generations of an enslaved family from Africa in the 1700s to emancipation during the Civil War -- will air in six parts from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. April 8-13, repeating each evening at 10 p.m. and the following day at noon. The finale will air April 15 at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., repeating April 16 at noon.
The hosts for the week-long event are LeVar Burton (who portrayed Kunta Kinte) April 8 and 9; Louis Gossett Jr. (Fiddler) April 10; Richard Roundtree (Sam Bennett) April 11; Leslie Uggams (Kizzy) April 12; and Ben Vereen (Chicken George) for the final episode April 15. The five former cast members will all be on hand April 15 for a closing tribute to the late author and creator of Roots, Alex Haley.
Leading up to and through the week of the Rootstelecast, TV One is also airing vignettes from notable African Americans of all ages about the significance of Roots in their lives and African-American culture.
Among those featured in the vignettes are the hosts mentioned above, as well as Rev. Al Sharpton; Quincy Jones; Queen Latifah; Alex Haley’s brothers, George and Julian Haley; Regina King; Dick Gregory; Sydney Tamiia Poitier; Jermaine Dupri; Jasmine Guy; Vanessa Williams; and Malinda Williams.
This historic series, based on the late Alex Haley’s best-selling book about his ancestors, begins with the harrowing story of Kunta Kinte, a young West African who is captured by slave traders in 1750 and sold into slavery in America, and the saga continues through the emancipation of Chicken George, Kunta Kinte’s grandson.
Still the top-rated miniseries of all time, Roots in its initial airing on ABC was watched -- in full or in part -- in 85% of U.S. homes.
An award-winning producer and director, Burton is working with TV One on developing original content to support the network’s telecast of the miniseries, including interstitial vignettes, online elements for TV One’s Web site and content designed for the education community.
