The eleventh season of the Emmy(R) nominated series “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” premieres on January 7 on PBS, featuring nineteen celebrity guests and a personal journey for the host himself. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. will explore his own family mystery.
Through genealogical detective work and advanced DNA analysis, Gates and his team will trace the lineages of twenty notable individuals across ten episodes. The tenth season recently earned its first Emmy(R) nomination, highlighting its impact on exploring America’s diverse heritage.
Notable guest pairings include actors Lea Salonga and Amanda Seyfried on January 7, talk show host Joy Behar and actor Michael Imperioli on January 14, and novelist Amy Tan and poet Rita Dove on January 21. Other episodes feature celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Chrissy Teigen, José Andrés, Sean Sherman, Rubén Blades, Natalie Morales, Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Debra Messing, Melanie Lynskey, Lonnie Bunch, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Laurence Fishburne.
Each episode uncovers emotional revelations about the guests’ family histories, leading to profound questions about identity. Gates’ expert guidance helps guests understand universal themes of love, courage, and sacrifice that transcend borders. The season takes viewers on a global journey, from coastal Africa to the Mississippi Delta, and from shtetls in the former Russian Empire to the ancestral lands of the Lakota Nation.
Joining Gates are DNA expert CeCe Moore and genealogists Nick Sheedy, Kimberly N. Morgan, and Akosua Moore. The team has made significant discoveries over the past ten seasons, such as finding the long-lost biological family of Andy Samberg’s mother.
The series is a production of McGee Media, Inkwell Media, and Kunhardt Films, in association with WETA Washington, D.C.
