About this season
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.
Episodes (10)
1. American Dreams
1.0Aired 6 January 2026
America Ferrera and Darren Criss uncover their immigrant roots.
2. Great Migrations
5.5Aired 13 January 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces rapper Wiz Khalifa and actor Sanaa Lathan to ancestors who left the American South, boldly breaking racial barriers.
3. Caribbean Roots
1.0Aired 20 January 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the Caribbean roots of actors Liza Colón-Zayas and Delroy Lindo—meeting ancestors who took enormous risks.
4. The Road We Took
10.0Aired 27 January 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces actor Lizzie Caplan and comedian Hasan Minhaj to ancestors whose brave decisions forever reshaped their families.
5. Love & Basketball
1.0Aired 3 February 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the family trees of basketball stars Brittney Griner and Chris Paul—uncovering ancestors who had extraordinary talents.
6. Westward Bound
6.8Aired 10 February 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of talk show host Sara Haines and playwright Tracy Letts from the American west to surprising places back east.
7. Family Harmonies
Aired 17 February 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of musicians Lizzo and Flea—traveling across the globe to find stories of the ancestors who inspired their work.
8. Artistic Roots
9.5Aired 24 February 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of director Spike Lee and actor Kristin Chenoweth, meeting ancestors whose creativity built their families.
9. Song of the South
Aired 7 April 2026
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family secrets of Danielle Deadwyler and Rhiannon Giddens, uncovering stories their ancestors once hid.
10. Rags to Riches
Aired 14 April 2026 • 53 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of actor Kate Burton and media mogul Barry Diller, meeting ancestors who made huge sacrifices to escape poverty.