Roots (2016 miniseries)

Roots
File:Roots2016PromotionalPoster.jpg Promotional poster
Based on	Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
Written by	Lawrence Konner Mark Rosenthal Alison McDonald Charles Murray
Directed by	Bruce Beresford Thomas Carter Phillip Noyce Mario Van Peebles
Starring	Malachi Kirby Forest Whitaker Anna Paquin Laurence Fishburne Jonathan Rhys Myers Anika Noni Rose T.I. Chad L. Coleman Emayatzy Corinealdi Matthew Goode Derek Luke Mekhi Phifer James Purefoy Erica Tazel Regé-Jean Page
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Ann Kindberg George Parra Will Packer (executive) Marc Toberoff (executive) Mark Wolper (executive) LeVar Burton (co-executive) Korin Huggins (co-executive) Alissa M. Kantrow (line) Dirk Hoogstra (production executive) Michael Stiller (development executive)
Cinematography	Peter Menzies, Jr.
Editor(s)	James Wilcox
Running time	Approx. 8 hours
Distributor	The Wolper Organization Will Packer Productions
Release
Original network	History Channel
Picture format	480p, 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	May 30, 2016 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	Roots Roots: The Next Generations Roots: The Gift
External links
Website

Roots is a 2016 American miniseries and a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name. It first aired on May 30, 2016 and stars Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Anika Noni Rose and T.I..

Cast

• Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte
• Forest Whitaker as Fiddler
• Laurence Fishburne as Alex Haley (voiceover narration)
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea
• Anika Noni Rose as Kizzy Waller
• Anna Paquin as Nancy Holt
• T.I. as Cyrus
• Chad L. Coleman as Mingo
• Regé-Jean Page as Chicken George
• Emayatzy Corinealdi as Belle
• Matthew Goode as Dr. William Waller
• Derek Luke as Silla Ba Dibba
• G. Hannelius as Missy Waller
• Carlacia Grant as Irene
• Mekhi Phifer as Jerusalem
• Erica Tazel as Matilda
• James Purefoy as John Waller
• Sam Malone as Ashford
• Denise Milfort as Ms. Ellen
• Mandela Van Peebles as Noah

Production

The History channel has commissioned a remake of the miniseries after acquiring rights from David L. Wolper's son, Mark Wolper, and Alex Haley's estate. The planned new eight-hour miniseries, with Mark Wolper as executive producer, will draw on Haley's novel and the original miniseries albeit from a contemporary perspective. In April 2015, it was announced that along with The History Channel, Lifetime and A&E would also broadcast the remake of the Roots miniseries. Will Packer, Marc Toberoff and Mark Wolper will executive produce it alongside Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal. LeVar Burton, star of the original series, and Korin Huggins will co-executive produce it.

On February 11, 2016, a trailer for the remake of Roots was released and Paul Buccieri, president of A&E and The History Channels, announced that the four night, 8-hour event series would premiere on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016. The ensemble cast includes Forest Whitaker as Fiddler, Anna Paquin as Nancy Holt, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea, Anika Noni Rose as Kizzy, Tip “T.I.” Harris as Cyrus, Emayatzy Corinealdi as Belle, Matthew Goode as Dr. William Waller, Mekhi Phifer as Jerusalem, James Purefoy as John Waller, introduces Regé-Jean Page as Chicken George and Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte, and Laurence Fishburne as Alex Haley.

Broadcast and distribution

In the United States, Roots is airing in four installments of approximately two hours each, airing from May 30 to June 2, 2016, on History, A&E, and Lifetime.

In Canada, in addition to availability on A&E, whose U.S. feed is carried in Canada directly – but not the licensed Canadian versions of History or Lifetime – the series will stream on CraveTV beginning in fall 2016.

Reception

Roots received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a rating of 100%, based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A powerfully impressive -- and still relevant -- update on a television classic, Roots boasts remarkable performances, deep emotion, and occasionally jarring beauty." On Metacritic the series has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

External links

• Roots at IMDb