History® will premiere “Roots” on Memorial Day 2016, airing over four consecutive nights at 9 p.m. beginning Monday, May 30. The four-night, eight-hour event series developed by History, from A+E Studios, is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family and their will to survive and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship.
The stellar cast includes Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker (Fiddler) and Anna Paquin (Nancy Holt), Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Laurence Fishburne (Alex Haley), Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Tom Lea), Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (Kizzy), Grammy Award® winner Tip “T.I.” Harris (Cyrus), Chad L. Coleman (Mingo), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Belle), Matthew Goode (Dr. William Waller), Derek Luke (Silla Ba Dibba), Mekhi Phifer (Jerusalem), James Purefoy (John Waller) and Erica Tazel (Matilda) and introduces Regé-Jean Page (Chicken George) and Malachi Kirby (Kunta Kinte).
“Nearly 40 years ago, I had the privilege to be a part of an epic television event that started an important conversation in America,” said LeVar Burton, co-executive producer. “I am incredibly proud to be a part of this new retelling and start the dialogue again, at a time when it is needed more than ever.”
