Seasons & episodes

Discover how the ancestors of business mogul Richard Branson and architects Maya Lin and Frank Gehry took audacious risks to create opportunities, and how their luck, ingenuity and chutzpah was passed on to these three visionaries.

Patricia Arquette, Senator John McCain, and Julianne Moore explore their genealogical heritage with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

S3 · E7Family Reunions 2016-02-16 · 60 min＋

Uncover family mysteries about two legends of hip hop, Sean Combs and LL Cool J, through the use of DNA technology, which reveals information that shakes their very foundations.

S3 · E8The Pioneers 2016-02-23 · 60 min＋

Discover how Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Steinem and Sandra Cisneros are connected to pioneers who broke new ground and paved the way for their modern day descendants to continue shaping our culture.

S3 · E9The Long Way Home 2016-03-01 · 60 min＋

Discover how actress Julianna Margulies, author Azar Nafisi and chef Lidia Bastianich are bound together by their ancestors’ singular and deeply human desire to preserve their most cherished traditions.

S3 · E10Maps of Stars 2016-03-08 · 60 min＋

Learn how Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow, who last shared the screen together in 1969, also share a history of tragic deaths in their families that played major roles in shaping future generations.

S4 · E1The Impression 2017-10-02 · 60 min＋

Join Larry David and Bernie Sanders, who learn they have more in common than they thought.

S4 · E2Unfamiliar Kin 2017-10-10 · 60 min＋

Guests: Carly Simon, Christopher Walken, and more. In this episode, three guests each learn about a grandparent whose real identity and background had been a mystery to them. Along the way, two of them also discover that their close relatives were on the wrong side of history.

S4 · E3Puritans and Pioneers 2017-10-17 · 60 min＋

Guests: Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen and William H. Macy. Three mainstays of modern-day Hollywood discover family legacies that predate the United States itself.

S4 · E4The Vanguard 2017-10-24 · 60 min＋

Guests: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ava DuVernay and Janet Mock. Three guests who have helped to redefine Black America in the last decade find their identities challenged as they learn about their family origins.

S4 · E5Immigrant Nation 2017-10-31 · 60 min＋

Guests: Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd and John Turturro. In this episode, three guests explore the tremendous challenges faced by their immigrant forebears.

S4 · E6Black Like Me 2017-11-07 · 60 min＋

Guests: Bryant Gumbel, Tonya Lewis-Lee and Suzanne Malveaux. Three African-American guests delve deep into their family trees, discovering unexpected stories that challenge our assumptions about black history.

S4 · E7Children of the Revolution 2017-11-14 · 60 min＋

Guests: Lupita Nyong’o, Carmelo Anthony and Ana Navarro. Three guests explore how their family trees were shaped by political turmoil and violence, discovering sometimes unexpected ancestry along the way.

S4 · E8Relatives We Never Knew We Had 2017-11-21 · 60 min＋

Guests: Gaby Hoffmann and Téa Leoni. Two guests whose lives have been shaped by family mysteries are introduced to biological ancestors they never knew they had thanks to genetic detective work.

S4 · E9Southern Roots 2017-12-12 · 60 min＋

Guests: Questlove, Dr. Phil and Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Three guests of disparate backgrounds dig into their Southern roots, where slavery and its aftermath shaped families both black and white.

S4 · E10Funny Business 2017-12-19 · 60 min＋

Guests: Amy Schumer and more. Guests who have found fame mining their family stories for comedy learn about ancestors who overcame immense suffering.

S5 · E1Grandparents and Other Strangers 2019-01-08 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E2Mystery Men 2019-01-15 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E3Reporting on the Reporters 2019-01-22 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E4Dreaming of a New Land 2019-01-29 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E5Freedom Tales 2019-02-05 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E6Roots in Politics 2019-02-12 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E7No Laughing Matter 2019-02-19 · 60 min＋

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.

S5 · E8Hard Times 2019-02-26 · 60 min＋

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.