Last episode
Rags to Riches
s12e10 · 2026-04-15
Running · US
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.
PBS Documentary
What it is
Since the premiere of his groundbreaking series African American Lives through the first season of Finding Your Roots, 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.
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Episode guide
10 this season · 131 totals03e01 The Stories We Tell 2016-01-06 01:00
The Stories We Tell
Discover the unsolved mysteries behind the family stories of political organizer Donna Brazile, actor Ty Burrell and artist Kara Walker as they learn how the legacy of slavery has shaped their identities.
s03e02 The Irish Factor 2016-01-13 01:00
The Irish Factor
Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O'Brien, Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influenced by their Irish roots.
s03e03 In Search of Freedom 2016-01-20 01:00
In Search of Freedom
Learn how the ancestors of Maya Rudolph, Shonda Rhimes and Keenen Ivory Wayans struggled for freedom, and how each of these cultural trailblazers gain a new understanding of how they fit into this proud trajectory.
s03e04 Tragedy + Time = Comedy 2016-01-27 01:00
Tragedy + Time = Comedy
Uncover a history of tragedies and triumphs in the families of three of America's funniest men-Jimmy Kimmel, Norman Lear and Bill Hader—as they learn how comedy truly has its place in all aspects of life.
s03e05 Visionaries 2016-02-03 01:00
Visionaries
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.
s03e06 War Stories 2016-02-10 01:00
War Stories
Uncover a long history of military service in the families of Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore and John McCain, and how this has instilled in each of them an enduring spirit of strength and integrity.
s03e07 Family Reunions 2016-02-17 01:00
Family Reunions
Uncover family mysteries about two legends of hip hop, Sean Combs and LL Cool J, through the use of DNA technology that reveals information that shakes their very foundations.
s03e08 The Pioneers 2016-02-24 01:00
The Pioneers
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.
s03e09 The Long Way Home 2016-03-02 01:00
The Long Way Home
Discover how actress Julianna Marguiles, author Azar Nafisi and chef Lidia Bastianich are bound together by their ancestors' singular and deeply human desire to preserve their most cherished traditions.
s03e10 Maps of Stars 2016-03-09 01:00
Maps of Stars
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.