# Roots (2016)

> A remake of Alex Haley's novel following the African-born Kunta Kinte, sold into slavery in colonial America, and the generations of his descendants.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58685

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 90 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Network: History
- Cast: Malachi Kirby, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Babs Olusanmokun, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Emyri Crutchfield, Brett Lapeyrouse
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3315386/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: harrowing, elegiac, serious, sweeping, tender

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive, with viewers praising the cast and the emotional weight of a story about slavery, though the single season was rated lower than its overall score suggests.

## Synopsis

Roots (2016) is an American historical drama miniseries adapted from Alex Haley's novel and created for History. Malachi Kirby plays Kunta Kinte, an African man captured and sold into slavery, while Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays plantation owner Tom Lea and Forest Whitaker plays the enslaved man Fiddler, with Laurence Fishburne appearing as Alex Haley. The engine of the story is Kunta's refusal to surrender his name and identity as he is forced through brutal captivity, the journey across the Atlantic, and the grinding routines of plantation life in 18th century colonial America. The four-episode limited series moves through its episodes in a single continuing arc, each installment built from long stretches of labor, cruelty, resistance, and quiet family bonds. Set in colonial America and West Africa, it is a serious, sweeping period drama that foregrounds endurance, dignity, and the weight of inherited memory. Its tone is harrowing and elegiac, with moments of tenderness amid systemic violence. Fans of the original 1977 Roots, 12 Years a Slave, and Harriet will find resonance in its portrait of enslavement and the generations that follow.

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