It first aired on May 30, 2016, and stars Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anika Noni Rose, T.I.

[1] Part 1 In 1767, Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby) is a young Mandinka man from Jufureh in the Gambia region of West Africa.

During a test where Kunta is made to run through the jungle in a certain period of time, he sees a man's dead body lying in a canoe.

The Koro family subsequently decide to sell Kunta and Jinna to the crew of the Lord Ligonier, a British slave ship.

Eventually, the Lord Ligonier arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, where Kunta is sold at an auction to John Waller (James Purefoy), a planter who owns a tobacco plantation in Virginia.

Kunta is subsequently renamed Toby, and placed under the care of Fiddler (Forest Whitaker), an enslaved musician whose real name is Henry.

With the aid of Fiddler, Kunta makes an escape attempt on Christmas, but is caught and flogged by a cruel Irish overseer, Connelly (Tony Curran).

However, Kunta realizes that with no weapons the regiment was only intended to serve as cannon fodder and escapes with Carlton as the Patriots rout the British.

Carlton is killed by an unknown gunman and Kunta is eventually recaptured; as punishment for escaping, his right foot is chopped off.

Kunta and Fiddler are later sold by John to his brother, Dr. William Waller (Matthew Goode) as payment for outstanding debts.

Kunta names the baby Kizzy (Saniyya Sidney), meaning "stay put" in the Mandinka language, in hopes of keeping their family together.

Kizzy grows up to be a beautiful, bright young woman who is secretly taught how to read by Missy (G Hannelius), Dr. Waller's niece.

After seeing Mingo gain respect from white men for winning a cockfight, George begins to take interest in the sport.

In 1835, George attends another cockfight, where Tom Lea makes a large wager with a visiting British gentleman, Sir Eric Russell (Adam Fergus).

They participate in the Battle of Fort Pillow, and watch horrified when surrendering Black Union soldiers are massacred by Confederate troops.

George, Cyrus, and Tom flee pursuing Confederate bushwhackers and return to the Murray plantation to learn that all the slaves have been freed by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Once George returns to the Murray Plantation, he, Cyrus, Tom, Matilda and the rest of their family pack up their belongings and head to Tennessee to start a new life.

Many years later, a man named Alex Haley traces his roots to Kunta Kinte and writes a book to honor both his family and all African Americans.

In February 2016, a trailer was released[4] and Paul Buccieri, president of A&E and The History Channels, announced that the four night, eight-hour event series would premiere on Memorial Day.

The ensemble cast included Forest Whitaker as Fiddler, Anna Paquin as Nancy Holt, Lane Garrison as Frederick Murray, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea, Anika Noni Rose as Kizzy, Tip Harris as Cyrus, Emayatzy Corinealdi as Belle, Matthew Goode as Dr. William Waller, Mekhi Phifer as Jerusalem, James Purefoy as John Waller, and introduced Regé-Jean Page as Chicken George and Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte, South African actress Nokuthula Ledwaba as Binta Kinte – Kunta Kinte's mother and Laurence Fishburne as Alex Haley.

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.