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. Hidden in the Genes
Aired 4 January 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps Rebecca Hall and Lee Daniels solve family mysteries through DNA detective work, illuminating both history and their own identities.
2. Children of Exile
Aired 4 January 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.
3. Activists Roots
Aired 11 January 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. welcomes Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Anita Hill, two guests who made profound sacrifices for social justice, and helps them discover the ancestors who made sacrifices for them.
4. Things we Dont Discuss
Aired 25 January 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Pamela Adlon and Kathryn Hahn explore scandals and secrets hidden within their roots, revealing truths that their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal—and celebrating the virtues of accepting one’s family members, whoever they may be.
5. Mexican Roots
Aired 1 February 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.
6. Fighters
Aired 8 February 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren’t the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.
7. Incredible Journeys
Aired 15 February 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps John Leguizamo and Lena Waithe retrace the paths of their immigrant ancestors who crossed continents and countries under amazing circumstances.
8. Songs of the Past
Aired 22 February 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. accompanies Broadway stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nathan Lane as they meet a cast of inspiring ancestors hidden in the branches of their family trees.
9. Watchmen
Aired 12 April 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.
10. Where Did We Come From?
Aired 19 April 2022 • 60 min
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.