Roots ( 1977 miniseries ) - wikipedia Roots ( 1977 miniseries ) Roots 25th Anniversary DVD cover, 2001 Genre Historical Drama Based on Roots : The Saga of an American Family Written by Alex Haley Screenplay by Alex Haley James Lee Directed by Marvin J. Chomsky John Erman David Greene Gilbert Moses Starring John Amos Ben Vereen LeVar Burton Louis Gossett Jr. Leslie Uggams Jordan Street Theme music composer Gerald Fried Quincy Jones ( episode 1 ) Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of episodes 8 ( re-edited to 6 for video ) Production Producer ( s ) Stan Margulies Cinematography Stevan Larner, ASC Running time 570 minutes Production company ( s ) Wolper Productions Distributor Warner Bros. Television Budget US $6.6 million Release Original network ABC Picture format 480p, 1080i ( HDTV ) Original release January 23 -- January 30, 1977 Chronology Followed by Roots : The Next Generations Roots is an American television miniseries based on Alex Haley 's 1976 novel Roots : The Saga of an American Family. The series first aired on ABC - TV in January 1977. Roots received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third highest rated episode for any type of television series, and the second most watched overall series finale in U.S. television history. It was produced on a budget of $6.6 million. The series introduced LeVar Burton in the role of Kunta Kinte. A sequel, Roots : The Next Generations, first aired in 1979, and a second sequel, Roots : The Gift, a Christmas TV movie, starring Burton and Louis Gossett Jr., first aired in 1988. A related film, Alex Haley 's Queen, is based on the life of Queen Jackson Haley, who was Alex Haley 's paternal grandmother. In 2016, a remake of the original miniseries, with the same name, was commissioned by the History Channel and screened by the channel on Memorial Day. Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Colonial times 1.2 Late 18th century 1.3 Turn of the 19th century 1.4 Early 19th century 1.5 The Civil War 1.6 Postwar 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Legal issues 5 Broadcast history 5.1 Episode list 5.2 U.S. Television ratings 6 DVD release 7 Awards and nominations 8 Historical accuracy 9 Remake 10 See also 11 References 12 External links Plot Colonial Times In The Gambia, West Africa, in 1750, Kunta Kinte is born to Omoro Kinte ( Thalmus Rasulala ), a Mandinka warrior, and his wife, Binta ( Cicely Tyson ). When Kunta ( LeVar Burton ) reaches the age of 15, he and a group of other adolescent boys take part in tribal manhood training, ending with a ceremony, after which they become recognized as men and Mandinka warriors. While trying to carry out a task to catch a bird and take it home unharmed, Kunta sees white men carrying firearms, along with their black collaborators. Later, while fetching wood outside his village to make a drum for his younger brother, Kunta is captured by black collaborators under the direction of white men. He is then sold to a slave trader and placed aboard a ship under the command of Capt. Thomas Davies ( Edward Asner ) for a three - month journey to Colonial America. During the voyage a group of rebels among the human cargo try but fail to stage a mutiny and to take over the ship. The ship eventually arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1767, where the captured Africans are sold at auction as slaves. John Reynolds ( Lorne Greene ), a plantation owner from Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near Fredericksburg, buys Kunta and gives him the name Toby. Reynolds assigns an older slave, Fiddler ( Louis Gossett Jr. ), to teach Kunta to speak English and to train him in the ways of living and working as a chattel slave. Kunta, in a persistent struggle to become free again, makes several unsuccessful attempts to escape. Further, to preserve his Mandinka heritage and maintain his Mandinka roots, he wants not to change his name, and he resists such a change. An overseer, Ames ( Vic Morrow ), gathers the slaves and directs one of them to whip Kunta after his latest attempt to escape and to continue whipping him until he finally acknowledges his new name. For events that occur in 1775, between the above period and the post-Revolutionary War, where the next section begins, see Roots : The Gift. Late 18th century Part of a series on Slavery Contemporary Child labour Conscription Debt Forced marriage Bride buying Wife selling Forced prostitution Human trafficking Peonage Penal labour Sexual slavery Historical Antiquity Ancient Rome Babylonia Ancient Greece Topics and practices Atlantic slave trade Middle Passage Arab slave trade Ghilman Mamluk Saqaliba Aztec Blackbirding Byzantine Empire Coolie Corvée labor Field slaves in the United States House slaves Kholop Medieval Europe Panyarring Thrall Serfs History Russia Slave market Slave raiding Naval Galley slave Impressment Pirates Shanghaiing Slave ship By country or region Sub-Saharan Africa Contemporary Africa Slavery on the Barbary Coast Barbary slave trade Slave Coast Angola Chad Ethiopia Mali Mauritania Niger Somalia South Africa Sudan Seychelles North and South America Americas indigenous U.S. Natives Brazil Lei Áurea Canada Caribbean Barbados Code Noir Cuba Haiti revolt Restavek Latin America Puerto Rico Trinidad United States colonial maps female partus penal labor Slave codes interregional Human Trafficking Virgin Islands Central, East, and South Asia Human trafficking in Southeast Asia Bhutan China Booi Aha Laogai India Debt bondage Chukri System Japan comfort women South Korea Yankee princess North Korea Vietnam Australia and Oceania Blackbirding in Australia Human trafficking in Australia Slave raiding in Easter Island Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea Blackbirding in Polynesia Europe and North Asia Sex trafficking in Europe British Isles Denmark Dutch Republic Germany in World War II Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain colonies Sweden North Africa and West Asia Iran Libya Human trafficking in the Middle East Ottoman Empire Yemen Religion Bible Christianity Catholicism Mormonism Islam 21st century Judaism Bahá'í Faith Opposition and resistance Timeline Abolitionism U.K. U.S. Anti-Slavery International Blockade of Africa U.K. U.S. Compensated emancipation Freedman manumission Freedom suit Abolitionists Slave Power Underground Railroad songs Slave rebellion Slave Trade Acts International law 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution Related Common law Indentured servant Unfree labour Fugitive slaves laws Great Dismal Swamp maroons List of slaves owners Slave narrative films songs Slave name Slave catcher Slave patrol Slave Route Project Treatment in U.S. breeding court cases Washington Jefferson Adams Lincoln 40 acres Freedmen 's Bureau bit Wage slavery Emancipation Day In 1776 the adult Kunta Kinte ( John Amos ) experiences serving as a chattel slave and feels haunted by his Mandinka roots and his memories of freedom at home in Africa. John Reynolds, his owner, does not receive as much cash as he has expected from the sale of his crop of tobacco, so, to settle a debt to his brother, Dr. William Reynolds ( Robert Reed ), the local physician, transfers several of his slaves, including Kunta and Fiddler, to William. Kunta tries again to escape, but a pair of slave - catchers seize him, bind him, and chop off about half his right foot ( to limit his ability to run away again ). Kunta meets Bell ( Madge Sinclair ), the cook for William 's family. Bell successfully treats both Kunta 's mangled foot and his wounded spirit. By 1780 he eventually submits to the harsh life, and he marries Bell in a ceremony, which includes jumping across a broom. Bell bears a daughter, to whom Kunta gives the name Kizzy, which means `` stay put '' in the Mandinka language. Fiddler continues to mentor and befriend Kunta, and Fiddler eventually dies at an old age in 1790. Turn of the 19th century An adulterous relationship between Dr. William Reynolds and John Reynolds 's wife ( Lynda Day George ) produces a daughter, Anne, whom John apparently believes to be his own offspring. Missy Anne ( Sandy Duncan ) and Kizzy ( Leslie Uggams ), about two years younger than Anne, become playmates and best friends within the social limits of the plantation culture. Anne secretly teaches Kizzy to read and write, and both Anne and Bell, Kizzy 's mother, strictly and severely caution Kizzy to avoid allowing anyone else to learn about her clandestine and forbidden education. In 1806 Kizzy, in her teen years, falls in love with Noah ( Lawrence Hilton - Jacobs ), another slave at William 's plantation, but Noah runs away and is caught and returned. During a beating Noah reveals that Kizzy has forged for him a traveling pass by copying a similar pass which Anne has given to Kizzy. William has previously assured his slaves that he would keep them all together at his plantation, not selling away any of them against their will as long as they `` follow the rules ''. However, William regards the pass and the escape to be such serious breaches of trust that he separately sells both Noah and Kizzy. Much weeping and wailing attend the departure of Kizzy, who desperately reaches out to Anne for help, only to be coldly shunned by her for helping Noah in his escape. William sells Kizzy to Tom Moore ( Chuck Connors ), a planter in Caswell County, North Carolina, who promptly rapes her, impregnating her with a son, to whom he gives the name George. Early 19th century In 1824 Sam Bennett ( Richard Roundtree ), a fancy carriage driver and a suitor who seeks to impress, takes Kizzy for a short visit to the plantation of Dr. William Reynolds, in the hope that she can see her parents. Kizzy learns that Bell has been sold away, and that Kunta has died two years back. Kizzy sees her father 's grave and his wooden marker ; using a small stone, she scratches over the name Toby and writes below it `` Kunta Kinte ''. George ( Ben Vereen ), under the tutelage of Mingo ( Scatman Crothers ), an older slave, learns much about cockfighting, and, by direction of Tom Moore, their master, George takes over as the chief trainer, the `` cock of the walk ''. George befriends a free black man and fellow cockfighter, who informs him about the possibility of buying his own freedom. In 1841, a now adult George continues to believe Moore to be a friend until he realizes his master 's true feeling when he and his family are threatened at gunpoint by Moore and his wife, as a result of the Nat Turner rebellion. Although none of Moore 's slaves are personally involved in the rebellion, they become victims of the paranoid suspicions of their master, so they start planning to buy their freedom. In an emotional scene Kizzy reveals to George the identity of his father. George becomes an expert in cockfighting, thus earning for himself the moniker `` Chicken George ''. Squire James ( Macdonald Carey ), Moore 's main adversary in the pit, arranges for a British owner, Sir Eric Russell ( Ian McShane ), and twenty of his cocks to visit and to participate in the local fights. Moore eventually bets a huge sum on his best bird, which George has trained, but he loses, and he can not pay. Under the terms of a settlement between Moore and Russell, George goes to England to train cocks for Russell and to train more trainers and is forced to leave behind Kizzy ( his mother ), Tildy ( Mathilda, his wife ) ( Olivia Cole ), and his sons, Tom and Lewis ( Georg Stanford Brown and Hilly Hicks ). Moore promises to set George free after George returns. In one brief scene Kizzy and Anne Reynolds, both elderly, face each other one last time, and Missy Anne denies that she `` recollects '' a `` darkie by the name of Kizzy ''. Kizzy then spits into Anne 's cup of water without Anne 's realizing. The Civil war George returns 14 years later, in 1861, shortly before the start of the Civil War. He proudly announces that Moore, after some reluctance on Moore 's part and some persuasion on George 's part, has kept his word by granting George his freedom. He learns that Kizzy has died two months before, that Tom and Lewis now belong to Sam Harvey ( Richard McKenzie ), that Tom ( Georg Stanford Brown ) has become a blacksmith on the Harvey plantation, and that Tom has a wife, Irene ( Lynne Moody ), and two sons. He also learns that his relatives have spoken well of him during his absence. He further learns that, according to a law in North Carolina, if he stays 60 days in that state as a freed slave, he will lose his freedom, so he heads northward, seeking the next stage in his career as a cockfighter and awaiting the end of the war, the emancipation of the slaves, and another reunion of his family. While the war continues to its inevitable end, a hungry and destitute young white couple from South Carolina, George and Martha Johnson ( Brad Davis and Lane Binkley ), arrive and ask for help, and the slave family take them in. Martha soon gives birth, but the child is stillborn. The white couple stays on with Tom and his wife, and becomes a part of their community. Tom Harvey meets harassment at the hands of two brothers, Evan and Jemmy Brent ( Lloyd Bridges and Doug McClure ). Eventually, a month before the surrender by the South, Jemmy deserts the Confederate Army during the final desperate days of the war, and he shows up at Tom 's blacksmith shop. Tom reluctantly runs an errand for him but, on returning, he finds Jemmy trying to rape Irene, and in the resulting fight Tom drowns him in the quenching tub. Later Evan, now an officer in the Confederate cavalry, arrives at the shop, demands to know about Jemmy, gets no answer, and angrily tells Tom that he has not yet finished with him. After the war several local white men, led by Evan Brent and wearing white hoods ( made from fabric sacks from Evan 's store ) begin to harass and terrorize Tom, his family, and other members of his community. Tom emerges as the leader among his group. As the local blacksmith, Tom devises a horseshoeing method to identify the horses involved in the raids by the hooded men. But when Tom reports his suspicions and his evidence to the sheriff, in sympathy with Evan and knowing every member of the white mob, tips off Evan. Evan 's mob leads another raid against Tom, during which Tom is whipped savagely. George Johnson, in his capacity as the overseer of the plantation, intervenes and is forced to whip Tom once, to his own horror and disgust, in order to save his friend 's life. Meanwhile, the former owner of the farm, Sam Harvey, is forced to surrender all of his property to Senator Arthur Justin ( Burl Ives ), a local politician intent on acquiring as much land as possible. Under the terms of the surrender, his former slaves are allowed to stay on as sharecroppers, with eventual rights to own a part of the land. However, because no written deed has been filed, the senator deems the agreement void and imposes heavy debts on the black farmers. Postwar Several years later Chicken George unexpectedly returns, raises the spirits of his relatives and friends, and begins to plot their next step. He reports that he has bought some land in Tennessee. Using some cunning and deception of their own, the group makes preparations for their move away. After one final confrontation with Evan and his gang, George and his company start their trek from North Carolina to Tennessee. In the last scene George and his group arrive on his land in Henning, Lauderdale County, Tennessee, to start their new life. George retells part of the story from Kunta Kinte in Africa to himself in Tennessee. Then Alex Haley briefly narrates a montage of photographs of family members connecting Tom 's daughter, Cynthia, a great - great - granddaughter of Kunta Kinte, to Haley himself. For the continuation of the story from the late 19th century into the 20th century, see Roots : The Next Generations Cast Number in parentheses indicates how many episodes in which the actor / character appears. LeVar Burton -- young Kunta Kinte ( 2 ) Olivia Cole -- Mathilda ( 3 ) Louis Gossett Jr. -- Fiddler ( 2 ) Ben Vereen -- Chicken George Moore ( 3 ) Vic Morrow -- Ames ( 2 ) John Amos -- older Kunta Kinte / `` Toby '' ( 2 ) Ji - Tu Cumbuka -- Wrestler ( 2 ) Ed Asner -- Capt. Davies ( 2 ) Lynda Day George -- Mrs. Reynolds ( 2 ) Robert Reed -- Dr. William Reynolds ( 3 ) Madge Sinclair -- Bell Reynolds ( 3 ) Chuck Connors -- Tom Moore ( 3 ) Sandy Duncan -- Missy Anne Reynolds ( 3 ) Leslie Uggams -- Kizzy Reynolds ( 2 ) Carolyn Jones -- Mrs. Moore ( 3 ) Lloyd Bridges -- Evan Brent ( 2 ) Georg Stanford Brown -- Tom Harvey ( 2 ) Brad Davis -- Ol ' George Johnson ( 2 ) Lane Binkley -- Martha Johnson ( 2 ) Tracey Gold -- Young Missy Reynolds ( 1 ) Hilly Hicks -- Lewis ( 2 ) Lynne Moody -- Irene Harvey ( 2 ) Austin Stoker -- Virgil ( 2 ) Ralph Waite -- Third mate Slater ( 2 ) Cicely Tyson -- Binta ( 1 ) Thalmus Rasulala -- Omoro ( 1 ) Moses Gunn -- Kintango ( 1 ) Hari Rhodes -- Brima Cesay ( 1 ) Ren Woods -- Fanta ( 2 ) Ernest Lee Thomas -- Kailuba ( 1 ) Lorne Greene -- John Reynolds ( 2 ) Scatman Crothers -- Mingo ( 1 ) George Hamilton -- Stephen Bennett ( 1 ) Lillian Randolph -- Sister Sara ( 2 ) Roxie Roker -- Malizy ( 1 ) Richard Roundtree -- Sam Bennett ( 1 ) Thayer David -- Harlan ( 2 ) John Quade -- Sheriff Biggs ( 2 ) Maya Angelou -- Nyo Boto ( 1 ) O.J. Simpson -- Kadi Touray ( 1 ) Beverly Todd -- Fanta as an adult ( 1 ) Paul Shenar -- John Carrington ( 1 ) Gary Collins -- Grill ( 1 ) Raymond St. Jacques -- The drummer ( 1 ) Lawrence Hilton - Jacobs -- Noah ( 1 ) John Schuck -- Ordell ( 1 ) Macdonald Carey -- Squire James ( 1 ) Ian McShane -- Sir Eric Russell ( 1 ) Doug McClure -- Jemmy Brent ( 1 ) Burl Ives -- Sen. Arthur Justin ( 1 ) Charles Cyphers -- Drake ( 1 ) Brion James -- Slaver ( 1 ) Todd Bridges -- Bud ( 1 ) Ross Chapman -- Sergeant Williams ( 1 ) Grand L. Bush -- Captured runaway slave ( 1 ) Yvonne De Carlo -- Slave owner 's wife ( 1 ) Production The miniseries was directed by Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, David Greene, and Gilbert Moses. It was produced by Stan Margulies. David L. Wolper was executive producer. The score was composed by Gerald Fried, and Quincy Jones for only the first episode. ABC television executives `` got cold feet '' after seeing the brutality depicted in the series and attempted to cut the network 's predicted losses by airing the series over eight consecutive nights in January in one fell swoop. The Museum of Broadcast Communications recounts the apprehensions that Roots would flop, and how this made ABC prepare the format : Familiar television actors like American ( sic ) actor Lorne Greene were chosen for the white, secondary roles, to reassure audiences. The white actors were featured disproportionately in network previews. For the first episode, the writers created a conscience - stricken slave captain ( Edward Asner ), a figure who did not appear in Haley 's novel but was intended to make white audiences feel better about their historical role in the slave trade. Even the show 's consecutive - night format allegedly resulted from network apprehensions. ABC programming chief Fred Silverman hoped that the unusual schedule would cut his network 's imminent losses -- and get Roots off the air before sweeps week. -- Encyclopedia of Television, Museum of Broadcast Communications Many familiar white TV actors, like Chuck Connors ( from The Rifleman ), Lorne Greene ( Bonanza and later Battlestar Galactica ), Robert Reed ( The Brady Bunch ), and Ralph Waite ( The Waltons ), were cast against type as slave holders and traders. Legal issues Following the success of the original novel and the miniseries, Haley was sued by author Harold Courlander, who asserted that Roots was plagiarized from his own novel The African, published nine years prior to Roots in 1967. The resulting trial ended with an out - of - court settlement and an admission from Haley that certain passages within Roots had been copied from Courlander 's work. Separately, researchers refuted Haley 's claims that, as the basis for Roots, Haley had traced his own ancestry back through slavery to a very specific individual and village in Africa. After a five - week trial in federal district court, Courlander and Haley settled the case with a financial settlement and a statement that `` Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from The African by Harold Courlander found their way into his book, Roots. '' During the trial, presiding U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Ward stated, `` Copying there is, period. '' In a later interview with BBC Television, Judge Ward stated, `` Alex Haley perpetrated a hoax on the public. '' During the trial, Alex Haley had maintained that he had not read The African before writing Roots. Shortly after the trial, however, a minority studies teacher at Skidmore College, Joseph Bruchac, came forward and swore in an affidavit that he had discussed The African with Haley in 1970 or 1971 and had given his own personal copy of The African to Haley, events that took place well before publication of Roots. Broadcast history Episode list Roots originally aired on ABC for eight consecutive nights from January 23 to January 30, 1977. In the United Kingdom, BBC One aired the series in six parts, starting with parts 1 to 3 over the weekend of April 8 to April 11th, 1977. The concluding three parts were broadcast on Sunday nights, from April 15 to May 1. The 6 - part version screened by the BBC is the version released on home video. Original run # Re-edited version # Approximate time period Featured Kinte descendant ( s ) Kunta Kinte Kizzy Chicken George Tom Harvey Part I ( 90m ) 1750 -- 1767 Yes Part II ( 90m ) 1767 -- 1768 Yes Part III ( 45m ) Part III ( 90m ) 1776 Yes Part IV ( 45m ) 1780 -- 1790 Yes Yes Part V ( 45m ) Part IV ( 90m ) 1806 Yes Yes Part VI ( 90m ) 1824 Yes Yes Part V ( 90m ) 1841 -- 1847 Yes Yes Yes Part VII ( 45m ) 1861 -- 1865 Yes Yes Part VIII ( 90m ) Part VI ( 90m ) 1865 -- 1870 Yes Yes U.S. television Ratings The miniseries was watched by an estimated 130 million and 140 million viewers total ( more than half of the U.S. 1977 population of 221 million -- the largest viewership ever attracted by any type of television series in US history as tallied by Nielsen Media Research ) and averaged a 44.9 rating and 66 % to 80 % viewer share of the audience. The final episode was watched by 100 million viewers and an average of 80 million viewers watched each of the last seven episodes. Eighty - five percent of all television homes saw all or part of the miniseries. All episodes rank within the top 100 rated TV shows of all time. Episode Nielsen Ratings Date All - time ranking Viewers ( millions ) Rating Share Roots Part I # 82 28.84 40.5 % 61 % 000000001977 - 01 - 23 - 0000 January 23, 1977 Roots Part II # 32 31.40 44.1 % 62 % 000000001977 - 01 - 24 - 0000 January 24, 1977 Roots Part III # 27 31.90 44.8 % 68 % 000000001977 - 01 - 25 - 0000 January 25, 1977 Roots Part IV # 35 31.19 43.8 % 66 % 000000001977 - 01 - 26 - 0000 January 26, 1977 5 Roots Part V # 21 32.54 45.7 % 71 % 000000001977 - 01 - 27 - 0000 January 27, 1977 6 Roots Part VI # 18 32.68 45.9 % 66 % 000000001977 - 01 - 28 - 0000 January 28, 1977 7 Roots Part VII # 50 30.12 42.3 % 65 % 000000001977 - 01 - 29 - 0000 January 29, 1977 8 Roots Part VIII # 3 36.38 51.1 % 71 % 000000001977 - 01 - 30 - 0000 January 30, 1977 On February 16 -- 18, 2013, in honor of Black History Month and the 36th anniversary of Roots, cable network BET aired both Roots and its sequel miniseries, Roots : The Next Generations. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of Roots, BET premiered the miniseries on a three - day - weekend showing in December 2012, which resulted in its being seen by a total of 10.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, and became the number - one Roots telecast in cable - television history. As for the BET network, its 35th - anniversary airing of Roots became its best `` non-tentpole '' weekend in the network 's history. On Sunday, October 18, 2015, TVOne rebroadcast Roots in high definition. DVD release Warner Home Video, which released a 25th - anniversary 3 - disc DVD edition of the series in 2002, released a four - disc ( three double - sided, one single - sided ) 30th - anniversary set on May 22, 2007. Bonus features include a new audio commentary by LeVar Burton, Cicely Tyson and Ed Asner among other key cast members, `` Remembering Roots '' behind - the - scenes documentary, `` Crossing Over : How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation '' featurette, new interviews with key cast members and the DVD - ROM `` Roots Family Tree '' feature. Awards and nominations This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2016 ) Won Primetime Emmy Awards : Best Director in a Drama Series -- David Greene for `` Part I '' Best Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- Louis Gossett Jr. Best Editing in a Drama Series -- Neil Travis for `` Part I '' Best Limited Series Best Music Composition for a Series -- Dramatic Underscore -- Gerald Fried and Quincy Jones for `` Part I '' Best Sound Editing in a Series Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series, Single Appearance -- Edward Asner Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series, Single Appearance -- Olivia Cole Best Writing in a Drama Series -- Ernest Kinoy and William Blinn for `` Part II '' Golden Globe Awards : Best TV Series -- Drama Nominations Primetime Emmy Awards : Best Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- LeVar Burton for `` Part I '' Best Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- John Amos Best Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- Ben Vereen Best Actress in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- Madge Sinclair Best Actress in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Appearance -- Leslie Uggams Best Art Direction or Scenic Design in a Drama Series ( `` Part II '' ) Best Art Direction or Scenic Design in a Drama Series ( `` Part VI '' ) Best Costume Design in a Drama or Comedy Series -- Jack Martell for `` Part I '' Best Cinematography in Entertainment Programming in a Series -- Stevan Larner for `` Part II '' Best Cinematography in Entertainment Programming in a Series -- Joseph M. Wilcots for `` Part VII '' Best Director in a Drama Series -- John Erman for `` Part II '' Best Director in a Drama Series -- Marvin J. Chomsky for `` Part III '' Best Director in a Drama Series -- Gilbert Moses for `` Part VI '' Best Editing in a Drama Series -- James T. Heckert and Neil Travis for `` Part II '' Best Editing in a Drama Series -- ( Peter Kirby for `` Part III '' Best Editing in a Drama Series -- James T. Heckert for `` Part VIII '' Best Music Composition for a Series in a Dramatic Underscore -- Gerald Fried for `` Part VIII '' Best Sound Mixing ( `` Part I '' ) Best Sound Mixing ( `` Part IV '' ) Best Sound Mixing ( `` Part VII '' ) Best Sound Mixing ( `` Part VIII '' ) Best Supporting Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series, Single Performance -- Moses Gunn Best Supporting Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series -- Ralph Waite Best Supporting Actor in a Drama or Comedy Series -- Robert Reed Best Supporting Actress in a Drama or Comedy Series -- Cicely Tyson Best Supporting Actress in a Drama or Comedy Series -- Sandy Duncan Best Writing in a Drama Series -- M. Charles Cohen for `` Part VIII '' Best Writing in a Drama Series -- James Lee for `` Part V '' Golden Globe Awards : Best TV Actress in a Drama -- Leslie Uggams Historical accuracy Further information : Roots : The Saga of an American Family § Historical accuracy Remake Main article : Roots ( 2016 miniseries ) The History channel produced a remake of the miniseries after acquiring rights from David L. Wolper 's son, Mark Wolper, and Alex Haley 's estate. The new eight - hour miniseries, with Mark Wolper as executive producer, drew on Haley 's novel and the original miniseries albeit from a contemporary perspective. Lifetime and A&E also simulcast it. Will Packer, Marc Toberoff and Mark Wolper executive produced it, alongside Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal. LeVar Burton, and Korin Huggins co-executive produced it. The four night, eight - hour event series premiered on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016. The ensemble cast includes Forest Whitaker as Fiddler, Anna Paquin as Nancy Holt, Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea, Anika Noni Rose as Kizzy, Tip `` T.I. '' Harris as Cyrus, Emayatzy Corinealdi as Bell, Matthew Goode as Dr. William Waller, Mekhi Phifer as Jerusalem, James Purefoy as John Waller, introduces Regé - Jean Page as Chicken George and Malachi Kirby as Kunta Kinte, and Laurence Fishburne as Alex Haley. See also Atlantic slave trade Middle Passage Triangular slave trade List of films featuring slavery References Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Rated TV Shows Of All Time, TV By the Numbers ''. Tvbythenumbers.com. Retrieved 2012 - 11 - 17. Jump up ^ Hyatt, Wesley ( 2012 ). Television 's Top 100. US : McFarland. p. 167. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7864 - 4891 - 3. Jump up ^ `` New Roots series expected to yield big bucks for ABC ''. Ottawa Citizen. February 20, 1979. p. 54. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 28. Jump up ^ Courtis, Brian ( February 19, 1979 ). `` Roots... Second Time Around ''. The Age. p. 2. 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Woods 13, Vol. III. ``. Jump up ^ Stanford, Phil ( April 8, 1979 ). `` Roots and Grafts on the Haley Story ''. The Washington Star p.F. 1. Jump up ^ `` Trial Transcript, United States District Court, Southern District of New York ; Harold Courlander, et ano., v. Alex Haley, et al ''. 1978. p. 1327 ``. Jump up ^ `` The Roots of Alex Haley ''. BBC Television Documentary. 1997. ``. Jump up ^ Stanford, Phil. `` '' Roots and Grafts on the Haley Story ``. ''. The Washington Star : p. F. 4. Check date values in : access - date = ( help ) ; access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Rich, Frank ( February 18, 1979 ). `` Television : A Super Sequel to Haley 's Comet ''. Time. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ `` ABC Soard in Ratings With ' Roots ' Sequel ''. Schenectady Gazette. February 24, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ `` 110 million see ' Roots ' video special ''. The Tuscaloosa News. March 1, 1979. p. 8. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 26. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Roots ' Ratings Dip ''. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 28, 1979. p. 29. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ Hanauer, Joan ( February 28, 1979 ). `` ABC Takes `` Roots '' Again ``. The Bryan Times. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ Gorman, Bill ( May 21, 2009 ). `` Top 100 Rated TV Shows Of All Time ''. Retrieved 2010 - 02 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Nielsen Ratings : Top Programs of 1990 - 91 '' ( PDF ). University of Oregon. Retrieved June 21, 2015. Jump up ^ Andreeva, Nellie ( November 5, 2013 ). `` History To Remake Iconic ' Roots ' Miniseries ''. Deadline. PMC. Retrieved November 6, 2013. Jump up ^ Andreeva, Nellie ( 2015 - 04 - 30 ). `` ' Roots ' Remake Set For History, A&E, Lifetime ; Will Packer, LeVar Burton Produce ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 17. Jump up ^ wilsonmorales. `` HISTORY 's `` Roots '' Set to Premiere Memorial Day 2016 blackfilm.com/read ``. Blackfilm.com. Retrieved 2016 - 02 - 12. External links Roots on IMDb Roots at AllMovie Roots at TV.com Encyclopedia of Television Roots - related interview videos at the Archive of American Television Alex Haley 's Roots Kunta Kinte Books Roots : The Saga of an American Family ( 1976 ) Queen : The Story of an American Family ( 1993 ) Television Roots ( 1977 ) Roots : The Next Generations ( 1979 ) Roots : The Gift ( 1988 ) Alex Haley 's Queen ( 1993 ) Roots ( 2016 ) Related Juffure, Gambia Lord Ligonier Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series 1973 -- present Tom Brown 's Schooldays ( 1973 ) Columbo : Double Exposure ( 1974 ) Benjamin Franklin ( 1975 ) Upstairs, Downstairs ( 1976 ) Roots ( 1977 ) Holocaust ( 1978 ) Roots : The Next Generations ( 1979 ) Edward & Mrs. Simpson ( 1980 ) Shōgun ( 1981 ) Marco Polo ( 1982 ) Nicholas Nickleby ( 1983 ) Concealed Enemies ( 1984 ) The Jewel in the Crown ( 1985 ) Peter the Great ( 1986 ) A Year in the Life ( 1987 ) The Murder of Mary Phagan ( 1988 ) War and Remembrance ( 1989 ) Drug Wars : The Camarena Story ( 1990 ) Separate but Equal ( 1991 ) A Woman Named Jackie ( 1992 ) Prime Suspect 2 ( 1993 ) Prime Suspect 3 ( 1994 ) Joseph ( 1995 ) Gulliver 's Travels ( 1996 ) Prime Suspect 5 : Errors of Judgement ( 1997 ) From the Earth to the Moon ( 1998 ) Hornblower ( `` The Even Chance '' / `` The Examination for Lieutenant '' / `` The Duchess and the Devil '' / `` The Frogs and the Lobsters '' ) ( 1999 ) The Corner ( 2000 ) Anne Frank : The Whole Story ( 2001 ) Band of Brothers ( 2002 ) Taken ( 2003 ) Angels in America ( 2004 ) The Lost Prince ( 2005 ) Elizabeth I ( 2006 ) Broken Trail ( 2007 ) John Adams ( 2008 ) Little Dorrit ( 2009 ) The Pacific ( 2010 ) Fargo, season 1 ( 2014 ) Olive Kitteridge ( 2015 ) Miniseries or Movie Downton Abbey, series 1 ( 2011 ) Game Change ( 2012 ) Behind the Candelabra ( 2013 ) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Jack Smight for `` Eddie '' ( 1959 ) Robert Mulligan for The Moon and Sixpence ( 1960 ) George Schaefer for Macbeth ( 1961 ) Franklin J. 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'' ( 1997 ) Mark Tinker for `` Pilot '' ( Brooklyn South ) / Paris Barclay for `` Brain Salad Surgery '' ( 1998 ) Paris Barclay for `` Hearts and Souls '' ( 1999 ) Thomas Schlamme for `` Pilot '' ( The West Wing ) ( 2000 ) Thomas Schlamme for `` In the Shadow of Two Gunmen : Part I '' & `` Part II '' ( 2001 ) Alan Ball for `` Pilot '' ( Six Feet Under ) ( 2002 ) Christopher Misiano for `` Twenty Five '' ( 2003 ) Walter Hill for `` Deadwood '' ( 2004 ) J.J. Abrams for `` Pilot '' ( Lost ) ( 2005 ) Jon Cassar for `` Day 5 : 7 : 00 a.m. -- 8 : 00 a.m. '' ( 2006 ) Alan Taylor for `` Kennedy and Heidi '' ( 2007 ) Greg Yaitanes for `` House 's Head '' ( 2008 ) Rod Holcomb for `` And in the End... '' ( 2009 ) Steve Shill for `` The Getaway '' ( 2010 ) Martin Scorsese for `` Boardwalk Empire '' ( 2011 ) Tim Van Patten for `` To the Lost '' ( 2012 ) David Fincher for `` Chapter 1 '' ( 2013 ) Cary Joji Fukunaga for `` Who Goes There '' ( 2014 ) David Nutter for `` Mother 's Mercy '' ( 2015 ) Miguel Sapochnik for `` Battle of the Bastards '' ( 2016 ) Reed Morano for `` Offred '' ( 2017 ) Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series -- Drama Marcus Welby, M.D., season 1 ( 1969 ) Medical Center, season 1 / season 2 ( 1970 ) Mannix, season 4 / season 5 ( 1971 ) Columbo, season 1 / season 2 ( 1972 ) The Waltons, season 1 / season 2 ( 1973 ) Upstairs, Downstairs, season 3 / season 4 ( 1974 ) Kojak, season 2 / season 3 ( 1975 ) Rich Man, Poor Man ( 1976 ) Roots ( 1977 ) 60 Minutes ( 1978 ) Lou Grant, season 2 / season 3 ( 1979 ) Shōgun ( 1980 ) Hill Street Blues, season 1 / season 2 ( 1981 ) Hill Street Blues, season 2 / season 3 ( 1982 ) Dynasty, season 3 / season 4 ( 1983 ) Murder, She Wrote, season 1 ( 1984 ) Murder, She Wrote, season 1 / season 2 ( 1985 ) L.A. Law, season 1 ( 1986 ) L.A. Law, season 1 / season 2 ( 1987 ) thirtysomething, season 1 / season 2 ( 1988 ) China Beach, season 2 / season 3 ( 1989 ) Twin Peaks, season 1 / season 2 ( 1990 ) Northern Exposure, season 2 / season 3 ( 1991 ) Northern Exposure, season 3 / season 4 ( 1992 ) NYPD Blue, season 1 ( 1993 ) The X-Files, season 1 / season 2 ( 1994 ) Party of Five, season 1 / season 2 ( 1995 ) The X-Files, season 3 / season 4 ( 1996 ) The X-Files, season 4 / season 5 ( 1997 ) The Practice, season 2 / season 3 ( 1998 ) The Sopranos, season 1 ( 1999 ) The West Wing, season 1 / season 2 ( 2000 ) Six Feet Under, season 1 ( 2001 ) The Shield, season 1 ( 2002 ) 24, season 2 / season 3 ( 2003 ) Nip / Tuck, season 2 ( 2004 ) Lost, season 1 / season 2 ( 2005 ) Grey 's Anatomy, season 2 / season 3 ( 2006 ) Mad Men, season 1 ( 2007 ) Mad Men, season 2 ( 2008 ) Mad Men, season 3 ( 2009 ) Boardwalk Empire, season 1 ( 2010 ) Homeland, season 1 ( 2011 ) Homeland, season 2 ( 2012 ) Breaking Bad, season 5, part II ( 2013 ) The Affair, season 1 ( 2014 ) Mr. Robot, season 1 ( 2015 ) The Crown, season 1 ( 2016 ) Slave narratives Slave Narrative Collection Captivity narrative Individuals by continent of enslavement Africa Robert Adams ( c. 1790 - ? ) Francis Bok ( b. 1979 ) James Leander Cathcart ( 1767 -- 1843 ) Ólafur Egilsson ( 1564 -- 1639 ) Hark Olufs ( 1708 -- 1754 ) Mende Nazer ( b. 1982 ) Thomas Pellow ( 1705 -- ? ) Joseph Pitts ( 1663 -- 1735 ? ) Guðríður Símonardóttir ( 1598 -- 1682 ) Europe Lovisa von Burghausen ( 1698 -- 1733 ) Olaudah Equiano ( c. 1745 Nigeria -- 31 March 1797 Eng ) Ukawsaw Gronniosaw ( c. 1705 Bornu -- 1775 Eng ) Roustam Raza ( 1783 -- 1845 ) Brigitta Scherzenfeldt ( 1684 -- 1736 ) North America : Canada Marie - Joseph Angélique ( c. 1710 Portugal -- 1734 Montreal ) North America : Caribbean Juan Francisco Manzano ( 1797 -- 1854, Cuba ) Esteban Montejo ( 1860 -- 1965, Cuba ) Mary Prince Venerable Pierre Toussaint ( 1766 Saint - Dominque -- June 30, 1853 NY ) Marcos Xiorro ( c. 1819 -- ? ? ?, Puerto Rico ) North America : United States Sam Aleckson Jordan Anderson William J. Anderson Jared Maurice Arter Solomon Bayley Polly Berry Henry Bibb Leonard Black Henry `` Box '' Brown John Brown William Wells Brown Peter Bruner ( 1845 KY -- 1938 OH ) Ellen and William Craft Hannah Crafts Lucinda Davis Noah Davis Lucy Delaney Ayuba Suleiman Diallo Frederick Douglass Kate Drumgoold Jordan Winston Early ( 1814 -- after 1894 ) Sarah Jane Woodson Early David George Moses Grandy William Green ( 19th century MD ) William Grimes Josiah Henson Fountain Hughes ( 1848 / 1854 VA -- 1957 ) John Andrew Jackson Harriet Ann Jacobs John Jea Thomas James ( minister ) Paul Jennings ( 1799 -- 1874 ) Elizabeth Keckley Boston King Lunsford Lane J. Vance Lewis Jermain Wesley Loguen Solomon Northup John Parker ( 1827 VA -- 1900 ) William Parker James Robert Moses Roper Omar ibn Said William Henry Singleton Venture Smith Austin Steward ( 1793 VA -- 1860 ) Venerable Pierre Toussaint ( 1766 Saint - Dominque -- 1853 NY ) Harriet Tubman Wallace Turnage Bethany Veney Booker T. Washington Wallace Willis ( 19th century Indian Territory ) Harriet E. Wilson Zamba Zembola ( b.c. 1780 Congo ) See also Treatment of slaves in the US, Exodus narrative in Antebellum America, Slavery among the indigenous peoples of the Americas South America Osifekunde ( c. 1795 Nigeria -- ? Brazil ) Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua ( 1845 -- 1847, Brazil ) Non-fiction books The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano ( 1789 ) The Narrative of Robert Adams ( 1816 ) American Slavery as It Is ( 1839 ) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave ( 1845 ) The Life of Josiah Henson ( 1849 ) Twelve Years a Slave ( 1853 ) My Bondage and My Freedom ( 1855 ) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl ( 1861 ) The Underground Railroad Records ( 1872 ) Life and Times of Frederick Douglass ( 1881 ) Up from Slavery ( 1901 ) The Peculiar Institution ( 1956 ) The Slave Community ( 1972 ) Fiction / novels Oroonoko ( 1688 ) Sab ( 1841 ) Uncle Tom 's Cabin ( 1852 ) The Heroic Slave ( 1852 ) Clotel ( 1853 ) Dred : A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp ( 1856 ) The Bondwoman 's Narrative ( 1853 ? -- 1861 ? ) Our Nig ( 1859 ) Jubilee ( 1966 ) Confessions of Nat Turner ( 1967 ) Roots : The Saga of an American Family ( 1976 ) Underground to Canada ( 1977 ) Kindred ( 1979 ) Dessa Rose ( 1986 ) Beloved ( 1987 ) Middle Passage ( 1990 ) Queen : The Story of an American Family ( 1993 ) Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons ( 1996 ) Ama : A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade ( 2001 ) Walk Through Darkness ( 2002 ) The Known World ( 2003 ) Unburnable ( 2006 ) Copper Sun ( 2006 ) The Book of Negroes ( 2007 ) Young adult books Amos Fortune, Free Man ( 1951 ) I, Juan de Pareja ( 1965 ) The Slave - girl from Jerusalem ( 2007 ) Essay To a Southern Slaveholder ( 1848 ) A Key to Uncle Tom 's Cabin ( 1853 ) Plays The Escape ; or, A Leap for Freedom ( 1858 ) The Octoroon ( 1859 ) Related African - American literature Caribbean literature Films featuring slavery Songs of the Underground Railroad Book of Negroes ( 1783 ) Cotton Plantation Record and Account Book ( 1847 ) Slave Songs of the United States ( 1867 ) Amazing Grace : An Anthology of Poems about Slavery ( 2002 ) The Hemingses of Monticello ( 2008 ) Documentaries Unchained Memories ( 2003 ) Frederick Douglass and the White Negro ( 2008 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roots_(1977_miniseries)&oldid=800046350 '' Categories : Roots ( TV miniseries ) 1970s American television series 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American television miniseries English - language television programs African - American genealogy Films based on American novels Films about American slavery Films set in the Gambia Best Drama Series Golden Globe winners Peabody Award - winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Television programs based on novels Television shows set in Virginia American Broadcasting Company network shows Television series set in the 18th century Television series set in the 19th century Television series by The Wolper Organization Film scores by Gerald Fried Hidden categories : CS1 errors : dates Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use mdy dates from March 2012 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Dts templates with deprecated parameters Articles needing additional references from October 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles using Template : EmmyTVLegends title Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 11 September 2017, at 07 : 42. 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Question: when did the mini series roots come out
Answer: January 1977