Episode 1
In Search of our Fathers
1h6.0 / 10
Three famous guests — Stephen King, Gloria Reuben and Courtney B. Vance — know almost nothing about their fathers’ histories.
Episode credits
Guest stars Stephen King, Gloria Reuben, Courtney B. Vance
TV series
Finding Your Roots
2012TV-PG12 seasons6.5 / 10
Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
Availability
Not streaming in United States
Finding Your Roots premiered March 24, 2012. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Synopsis
Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
Season 2 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Where to watch Finding Your Roots
Episode 2
Born Champions
1h
Billie Jean King, Derek Jeter and Rebecca Lobo learn about their family histories. King discovers that her grandmother was an orphan; Derek Jeter investigates his ancestors' lives as slaves; and Lobo finds out that an ancestor was forced to flee Spain because of his democratic ideals.
Episode credits
Guest stars Billie Jean King, Rebecca Lobo, Derek Jeter
Episode 3
Our American Storytellers
1h6.0 / 10
Ken Burns learns that his Southern ancestors include Confederate soldiers and a slave owner; Anderson Cooper learns that an ancestor on his father's side was killed by one of his slaves; and Anna Deavere Smith learns about her great-grandfather, who was a free black man and former conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Episode credits
Guest stars Ken Burns, Anna Deavere Smith, Anderson Cooper
Episode 4
Roots of Freedom
1h6.0 / 10
Actor Ben Affleck discovers his mother's past as a Freedom Rider in 1964, NAACP President Ben Jealous learns how far his great-grandfather would go to keep his family whole, and actress Khandi Alexander learns about her grandfather's death. This episode is not available from pbs because actor Ben Affleck had persuaded Gates to omit information about his slave-owning ancestors. In the investigation, PBS said that producers violated network standards by letting Mr. Affleck have “improper influence” and “by failing to inform PBS or WNET of Mr. Affleck’s efforts to affect program content.”
Episode credits
Guest stars Ben Affleck, Khandi Alexander, Ben Jealous
Episode 5
The Melting Pot
1h
Chef Tom Colicchio learns the hardships his family endured in Northern Italy; chef Ming Tsai traces his roots back 2,000 years; chef Aarón Sánchez learns his Mexican roots include Spaniards, Africans and Native Americans.
Episode credits
Guest stars Ming Tsai, Tom Colicchio, Aarón Sánchez
Episode 6
We Come From People
1h
Nas learns about his slave ancestors; Angela Bassett discovers that her family history includes an emancipation story; and Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, learns about the free people of color in her family's past
Episode credits
Guest stars Angela Bassett, Valerie Jarrett, Nas
Episode 7
Our People, Our Traditions
1h
Tony Kushner learns how the Holocaust impacted his ancestors; Carole King delves into the origins of her family name; and Alan Dershowitz discovers that an Hassidic synagogue started by his great-grandfather played a secret role in World War II.
Episode credits
Guest stars Carole King, Alan Dershowitz, Tony Kushner
Episode 8
The British Invasion
1h
Deepak Chopra, Sally Field and Sting’s ancestry demonstrates the extraordinary influence of the British Empire during the 18th and early 19th century.
Episode credits
Directed by Hazel Gurland-PoolerGuest stars Deepak Chopra, Sally Field, Sting
Episode 9
Ancient Roots
1h
Tina Fey, George Stephanopoulos and David Sedaris, three quintessential voices in American life, descend from ancestors that were part of the wave of Greek immigrants that flooded America’s shores in the early decades of the 20th century.
Episode credits
Guest stars David Sedaris, Tina Fey, George Stephanopoulos
Episode 10
Decoding Our Past Through DNA
1hfinale
Secrets encoded in their genomes challenge these guests’ ideas about their families’ histories and their identities today. This episode features Jessica Alba, Anderson Cooper, Valerie Jarrett, Governor Deval Patrick and more.
Episode credits
Guest stars Jessica Alba, Derek Jeter, Anderson Cooper, Tom Colicchio, Angela Bassett, Valerie Jarrett, Alan Dershowitz, Tony Kushner
Episode information updated Jul 23, 2026
Available now in United States
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More about Finding Your Roots
Cast
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.Self - Host
Derek JeterSelf
Anderson CooperSelf
Tom ColicchioSelf
Angela BassettSelf
Valerie JarrettSelf
Alan DershowitzSelf
Tony KushnerSelfCredits
- Written by
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Production details
- Status
- Returning Series
- Series type
- Documentary
- Episodes
- 126
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
PBSUnited States- Kunhardt McGee Productions
Ark MediaUnited States- Inkwell FilmsUnited States
Themes
ancestrycelebritydnagenealogy