History, A&E and Lifetime today announced that they have greenlit the scripted event series “Roots” for a new generation of viewers to simulcast on all three flagship brands. Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like A Man) joins as executive producer and original “Roots” cast member and Emmy-award winning LeVar Burton boards as co-executive producer. Mark Wolper also serves as executive producer. An A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, “Roots” is slated to air in 2016.
The classic miniseries “Roots” was a television phenomenon that had an indelible effect on American culture. A+E Networks and The Wolper Organization – the company that produced the original – are making a version of Alex Haley’s American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. Lawrence Konner (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Sopranos”), Mark Rosenthal (Mona Lisa Smile, Planet of the Apes), Alison McDonald (“Alpha House,” “Nurse Jackie”) and Charles Murray (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Luke Cage”) are writing. Vickie Thomas (Hateful Eight, Top Five) is casting director. “Roots” will be an original, contemporary production, incorporating more material from Haley’s novel, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time.
The networks also are already working closely with many prominent historians in the fields of African and African-American history, as well as diverse leaders from across the country, to use this powerful story to stimulate discussion and awareness about this important origin story that informs our American culture today.
“Roots” offers a historical portrait of American slavery, recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte who is captured in his homeland in The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history – including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta Kinte and the women and men who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.
“‘Roots’ was a groundbreaking television milestone that has had an enduring effect on American culture. We are privileged to be stewards of this universal story and will undertake its retelling with extreme care,” says Dirk Hoogstra, History’s EVP and general manager. “We are proud to bring this saga to fans of the original, as well as to a new generation that will experience this powerful and poignant tale for the first time. Audiences will once again feel the impact of Kunta Kinte’s indomitable spirit.”
“Kunta Kinte began telling his story over 200 years ago and that story went through his family lineage, to Alex Haley, to my father, and now the mantle rests with me,” adds Wolper. “Like Kunta Kinte fought to tell his story over and over again, so must we.”
“The opportunity to present one of America’s most powerful stories to a generation that hasn’t seen it is tremendously exciting. Contemporary society needs this story and I’m proud to be a part of it,” says Packer.
“My career began with ‘Roots’ and I am proud to be a part of this new adaptation,” says Burton. “There is a huge audience of contemporary young Americans who do not know the story of ‘Roots’ or its importance. I believe now is the right time to tell this story so that we can all be reminded of its impact on our culture and identity.”
“Roots” is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization. Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Marc Wolper, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin Huggins are co-executive producers. Dirk Hoogstra, Julian P. Hobbs and Michael Stiller serve as Executives in Charge of Production for History. “Roots” is distributed internationally by A+E Networks under the A+E Studios International banner.
I remember watching the original Roots in elementary school & then I watched it again when it aired on the Family Channel many years ago. There was a sequel mini-series called "Queen" that I watched back in the early 90's which featured Halle Berry as the title character. Hope James Earl Jones is able to return for this version, he probably wouldn't be playing Alex Haley again but it would be great if he was part of the cast in some capacity.
Laurence Fishburne to Portray Alex Haley in A+E’s Roots Miniseries
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Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne (“black-ish”) is set to star as Alex Haley in the A+E Networks scripted event series “Roots,” it was announced today by Dirk Hoogstra, EVP & General Manager, HISTORY. Fishburne will play Haley, the author of the novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” an American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. “Roots” will be an original, contemporary production, incorporating material from Haley’s novel, as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time.
In the 1979 sequel to the original ABC miniseries “Roots: The Next Generations,” Haley was portrayed at different ages by by Kristoff St. John, Damon Evans, James Earl Jones.
“Roots” is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte who is captured in his homeland in The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history – including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta Kinte and the women and men who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.
Laurence Fishburne has achieved an impressive body of work not only as an actor but also as a producer and director. In 1992, he won the Tony Award for his portrayal of Sterling Johnson in August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running.” The following year, his performance as Martin of the television series “Tribeca,” earned him an Emmy Award. In 1994, he was an Academy Award nominee as Best Actor for his portrayal of Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to do With It.
Fishburne was later an Emmy Award nominee for his portrayal of Thurgood Marshall, broadcast as an adaptation of his one-man show, “Thurgood.” He was also an Emmy Award nominee and an NAACP Image Award winner for his starring role in the telefilm “Miss Evers’ Boys,” which he executive-produced.
Some of his many other motion pictures include John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood, Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, and Gardens of Stone, all directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple; Spike Lee’s School Daze; Robert Markowitz’s telefilms “Decoration Day” and “The Tuskegee Airmen,” for which he received an NAACP Image Award as well as Golden Globe, Emmy and CableACE Award nominations; The Matrix movies; Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, Emilio Estevez’s Bobby, for which he shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination with his fellow actors from the ensemble.
Fishburne’s next project is the upcoming Warner Bros. film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He can currently be seen in the series “black-ish”, for which he serves as executive producer. And he most recently appeared in “Hannibal” and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
“Roots” is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original “Roots.” Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Marc Wolper, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin Huggins are co-executive producers. Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Alison McDonald, and Charles Murray are writing. Dirk Hoogstra, Arturo Interian and Michael Stiller serve as Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY. “Roots” is distributed internationally by A+E Networks under the A+E Studios International banner.
Well, hopefully the remake will help get the ball rolling on a Blu-Ray release for the original miniseries...
Roots is all ready for Blu-Ray as WB went back and remastered it in HD as soon as the remake was announced, with the new master being shown on network TV last month. The Blu-Ray release will be announced around the same time as production on the remake is completed. Keep an eye on LeVar Burton's social media accounts, as he will likely be one of the first to announce the new home media relase.
I'd prefer to see the original this doesn't need a remake
Who they going to get for Kunta Kinte Kevin Hart sheesh
Although I think the original is fine, I understand their reasoning behind a remake. Levar Burton said that the original featured many of the top television stars of the time, but nowadays young audiences have no idea who they are and it can make it hard for them to want to watch. So Burton felt if they could make a new version featuring top stars of today, there would be a sense of familiarity that would make the new audience more likely to watch. I'll be curious to see who they cast, especially as Kunta Kinte.
I had no idea all these peple were in this. I know T.I. Was so I shrugged it off, but saw this post was updated. Definitely interested to see this since it features legit acting talent.
Also I will never stop lauging at T.I. Not using his real name like it's not publicly known.
Well, I gotta say that looks a lot better than I expected. I doubt it (or any mini-series these days) could ever pull in the numbers the original did, given how fragmented today's TV audience is, but it definitely looks worth checking out.
I had to miss the first airing but caught the encore. Haven't read the book or seen the original mini-series since high school but I thought this was really well done. I liked the actor playing Kunta Kinte and when has Forest Whitaker ever been anything less than stellar? Strong production values and a terrific score, too. But man, that whipping scene at the end was brutal to watch.
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History's "Roots" (2016 Event Series)
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