Explore Finding Your Roots: Season 8

Published on September 27, 2024 by PBS

Season 8 of Finding Your Roots first premiered January 4, 2022.

Stream your favorite episodes on Finding Your Roots as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores fascinating ancestries and family mysteries for an array of notable guests.

Meet The Season 8 Guests

Amy Carlson

André Leon Talley

Anita Hill

Brittany Packnett Cunningham

Damon Lindelof

David Chang

Erin Burnett

John Leguizamo

Kathryn Hahn

Lee Daniels

Lena Waithe

Leslie Odom Jr

Mario Lopez

Melissa Villaseñor

Nathan Lane

Pamela Adlon

Raúl Esparza

Regina King

Terry Crews

Tony Danza

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Finding Your Roots: Season 8 Episodes

Hidden in the Genes

Episode 1

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps Rebecca Hall and Lee Daniels solve family mysteries through DNA detective work, illuminating both history and their own identities.

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Activist Roots

Episode 2

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes actors Claire Danes and Jeff Daniels on a journey into their roots, uncovering primal scenes from our nation’s past, featuring World War One battles, Civil War prison camps, and America’s most infamous witch hunt.

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Children of Exile

Episode 3

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.

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Things We Don't Discuss

Episode 4

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps actors Pamela Adlon and Kathryn Hahn explore scandals and secrets hidden within their roots, revealing truths that their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal—and celebrating the virtues of accepting one’s family members, whoever they may be.

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Mexican Roots

Episode 5

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.

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Fighters

Episode 6

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren’t the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.

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Forgotten Journeys

Episode 7

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps John Leguizamo and Lena Waithe retrace the paths of their immigrant ancestors who crossed continents and countries under amazing circumstances.

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Songs of the Past

Episode 8

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. accompanies Broadway stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nathan Lane as they meet a cast of inspiring ancestors hidden in the branches of their family trees.

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Watchmen

Episode 9

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.

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Where Did We Come From?

Episode 10

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.

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