Roots is a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name which 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.
Based on the bestseller by Alex Haley, Roots follows the story of Kunta Kinte who is captured in his homeland in the Gambia and transported to colonial America where he's sold into slavery.
The show features an all-star cast including Forest Whitaker (The Butler) as Fiddler, Anna Paquin (True Blood) as Nancy Holt; Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors) as Tom Lea; Anika Noni Rose (Dream Girls) as Kizzy; Chad L. Coleman (The Walking Dead) as Mingo; Erica Tazel (Justified) as Matilda; and Derek Luke (Captain America: The First Avenger, Antwone Fisher) as Silla Ba Dibba.
Laurence Fishburne (Black-ish) plays the role of Alex Haley.
Newcomers Malachi Kirby and Regé-Jean Page (Survivor, Waterloo) play the iconic roles of Kunta Kinte and Chicken George. Malachi was handpicked by executive producers Will Packer and LeVar Burton, who played the original Kunta Kinte in the earlier version.
Mtunzini's Umlalazi River and the Dlinza Forest near Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were used for filming, doubling for scripted areas in Gambia and along the Kambay Bolongo River, where Kinte is taken prisoner, transported down the river and put on to a ship to be sent to America.
| CHANNEL |
Netflix South Africa |
| PREMIERE |
1 November 2017 |
| TIMESLOT |
Wednesday, 00h01 (all episodes) |
| REPEATS |
None |