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. To the Manor Born
Aired 19 January 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Glenn Close and John Waters. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discovers the privileged lineages of Glenn Close and John Waters.
2. The Mole Agent
Aired 26 January 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Andy Cohen and Nina Totenberg. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces Andy Cohen and Nina Totenberg to their survivor ancestors.
3. No Irish Need Apply
Aired 2 February 2021 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the roots of actor Jane Lynch and comedian Jim Gaffigan, revealing the Irish American experience through their families.
4. The Shirts on Their Backs
Aired 9 February 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Meloni. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the immigrant roots of actors Tony Shalhoub and Christopher Meloni, introducing ancestors who came to America to build a better life.
5. Write My Name in the Book of Life
Aired 16 February 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Pharrell Williams and Kasi Lemmons. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Pharrell Williams and filmmaker Kasi Lemmons uncover extraordinarily rare first-person accounts of their enslaved ancestors.
6. Country Roots
Aired 23 February 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Clint Black and Rosanne Cash. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the remarkably diverse backgrounds of country music icons Clint Black and Rosanne Cash.
7. The New World
Aired 13 April 2021 • 60 min
Guests: John Lithgow and Maria Hinojosa. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces ancestors of actor John Lithgow and journalist Maria Hinojosa who thrived in North America long before the birth of the United States.
8. Anchored to the Past
Aired 20 April 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examines how journalists Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon were able to overcome biases in their careers, drawing parallels to relatives who met profound challenges of their own.
9. On Broadway
Aired 27 April 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Audra MacDonald and Mandy Patinkin. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. investigates the family histories of Broadway stars Audra MacDonald and Mandy Patinkin, discovering ancestors whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.
10. Laughing on the Inside
Aired 4 May 2021 • 60 min
Guests: Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. provides comedians Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. with accounts of hardship in their family trees which may have led them to each find humor in adversity.