Hazel Gurland-Pooler
Director
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012)
Season 5
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.
Released March 24, 2012
Episode 59 min
12+
Genres: Biography, Documentary, History
Keywords: tmdb.dna, tmdb.celebrity, tmdb.ancestry, mdblist.has-trailer, tmdb.genealogy, imdb.world-history, imdb.genetic-testing + 35 more, imdb.dna, imdb.nature-versus-nurture, imdb.slavery, imdb.holocaust, imdb.family-history, imdb.american-history, imdb.genealogy, imdb.jewish-american, imdb.family-tree, imdb.antisemitism, imdb.world-war-two, imdb.pogrom, imdb.antebellum-south, imdb.slave, imdb.census, imdb.immigrant, imdb.african-american, imdb.asian-american, imdb.american-civil-war, imdb.latino-american, imdb.family-secret, imdb.american, imdb.19th-century, imdb.melting-pot, imdb.great-britain, imdb.family-mystery, imdb.american-revolutionary-war, imdb.american-revolution, imdb.soldier, imdb.slave-owner, imdb.18th-century, imdb.professor, imdb.social-documentary, awards.emmy-award-nominated, imdb.history-documentary
Watch Providers: The Roku Channel, PBS, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Plex + 6 more, Plex Channel, PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel, PBS Living Amazon Channel, KQED, Thirteen, WETA+
Production Companies: Kunhardt McGee Productions, Ark Media, Inkwell Films
Network: PBS
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S5E1 - Grandparents and Other Strangers
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actor Andy Samberg and author George R. R. Martin answer some family mysteries when DNA detective work uncovers new branches of their family trees. The DNA analysis upends family history and reveals new relatives.
Jan. 8, 2019, midnight
S5E2 - Mystery Men
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Felicity Huffman and Michael K. Williams discover a wealth of hidden family history. Both grew up knowing little about their biological fathers, and seeing their lost ancestry restored proves deeply empowering.
Jan. 15, 2019, midnight
S5E3 - Reporting on the Reporters
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows journalists Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling that the stories within their own family trees are every bit as compelling as the news stories they have been covering for the world.
Jan. 22, 2019, midnight
S5E4 - Dreaming of a New Land
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores with Marisa Tomei, Sheryl Sandberg and Kal Penn the tremendous challenges faced by their immigrant forebears. From Italy, Russia and India to America, their histories show success could take generations to achieve.
Jan. 29, 2019, midnight
S5E5 - Freedom Tales
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delves deep into the roots of two African-American guests, actor S. Epatha Merkerson and athlete and television personality Michael Strahan. Both discover unexpected stories that challenge assumptions about black history.
Feb. 5, 2019, midnight
S5E6 - Roots in Politics
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the diverse family histories of politicians Paul Ryan, Tulsi Gabbard and Marco Rubio. They each see a shared vision of the great American melting pot reflected in their ancestors’ stories.
Feb. 12, 2019, midnight
S5E7 - No Laughing Matter
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shows comedians Seth Meyers, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman that their family trees are filled with people whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success. Gates also reveals to each one news of an unexpected DNA cousin.
Feb. 19, 2019, midnight
S5E8 - Hard Times
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family stories of filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloë Sevigny—three people whose distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today.
Feb. 26, 2019, midnight
S5E9 - The Eye of the Beholder
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares the family histories of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, iconoclastic performance artist Marina Abramović and painter Kehinde Wiley. These visionary artists find their identities challenged—and affirmed.
April 2, 2019, midnight
S5E10 - All in the Family
The family stories of actor Ty Burrell, and radio host Joe Madison. Also a look at how a summer camp for children is using genetic genealogy to help young people better understand their burgeoning identities.
April 9, 2019, midnight
Network: PBS
Episode Runtime: 59 min.
Season Runtime: 7080 min.
Released: March 24, 2012
Last Air Date: April 8, 2025, midnight
Next Air Date: Jan. 6, 2026, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: TV-PG
Common sense age: 12+
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