Roots

Seasoned actor LeVar Burton will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the first annual Children’s & Family Emmy Award ceremony happening later this year for his decades of work in Hollywood, highlighted by a career-defining role as Kunta Kinte in the iconic miniseries 'Roots.'

LeVar Burton is speaking out about the cultural impact of the 'Roots' miniseries, based on Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It aired on ABC across eight consecutive nights, beginning on Jan. 23, 1977.

Seasoned thespian LeVar Burton is expanding his brand in media by launching a book club with Fable.

  In the 70’s, the miniseries Roots captured the imagination of the American viewing public and launched or upgraded the careers of actors like Ben Vereen, LaVar Burton, Leslie Uggams and more. The story, written by Alex Haley, traced a Black family’s ancestral line all the way back to Africa. Sadly, one of the stars […]

ABC comedy “Black-ish” and its two lead actors Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross all received Emmy nominations this morning, as the Television Academy announced contenders for the 68th annual ceremony. Also, Taraji P. Henson of Fox’s “Empire” and Viola Davis of ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder” will face each other again for […]

Legendary actor Louis Gossett Jr. talks to the Tom Joyner Morning Show about the DVD release of the original Roots and weighs in on the controversy around the remake. On Snoop Dogg’s reaction to the remake of Roots: “He’s got his money and he’s come a long way and I’m proud of him. But we need […]

Roland Martin talks about Snoop Dogg‘s boycott on the Will Packer produced remake of Roots. “Slavery happened. Slavery is real and too many Americans want to deny what happened in this country. Snoop Dogg says they shouldn’t be making these kinds of movies. I went on IMDB and Snoop has 85 television and movie credits. You […]

The premiere episode of the updated Roots miniseries drew a strong 5.3 million viewers Monday night across its simultaneous airings on History, Lifetime and A&E. The number was enough to make Roots the most watched scripted miniseries premiere in Nielsen live-plus-same day ratings in three years — since “2013’s “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Bible.” […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Count Snoop Dogg out when it comes to watching the History Channel’s remake of “Roots.” In an expletive-filled rant posted on Instagram , the rapper calls for a boycott of the remake of the 1977 miniseries based on Alex Haley’s novel about an African slave and his descendants. Of “Roots” and […]

The History Channel’s remake of “Roots” is just weeks away, and a star of the original 1977 miniseries has a lot to say about it. John Amos, who received an Emmy nomination as the adult Kunte Kinte in the groundbreaking 1977 original, told the Huffington Post that the remake may not have as much of […]

In 1976 author Alex Haley, who also wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X released his book Roots, partially based on his journey to discover his ancestry. In the book, he told the story of those ancestors and the struggles they faced after being forcefully uprooted from Africa. Haley’s book was turned into a TV mini-series, […]

Forest Whitaker, Anika Noni Rose and Derek Luke are among the actors newly cast in A&E Networks’ remake of Roots, the network announced Wednesday. Whitaker will play Fiddler, a slave who risks his life trying to mentor and aid in the escape of protagonist Kunta Kinte. Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (The Good Wife) will […]