The BEST episodes of Finding Your Roots season 9
Every episode of Finding Your Roots season 9, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Finding Your Roots season 9!
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the 12th and latest series from the renowned cultural critic and Harvard scholar. In this 10-part series, Professor Gates continues the quest he begun in African American Lives 1 and 2 and Faces of America delving into the genealogy and genetics of an all new group of famous Americans. The series combines history and science in a fascinating exploration of race, family, and identity in today's America. Each hour features a different pair of celebrity guests, who are bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link, whether it be as old friends, through long-lost relatives, or even through a common ancestral past.
#2 - Far From Home
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/2023
Henry Louis Gates explores the family trees of pop icon Cyndi Lauper and actors Jamie Chung and Danny Trejo, introducing them to ancestors whose stories were forgotten when their families immigrated to the United States. Drawing on long-lost records from Italy, Korea, Mexico, and Switzerland, Gates helps his guests to re-imagine their families and connect to their vanished histories.
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#3 - Rising From the Ashes
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/31/2023
Henry Louis Gates traces the roots of actors Brian Cox and Viola Davis—two people who overcame traumatic childhoods, revealing that they aren’t the first in their families to face enormous odds. From workhouses in Scotland to slave plantations in South Carolina, long-lost records reveal the stories of ancestors who laid the groundwork for Brian and Viola’s success by fighting so hard to survive.
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#4 - Hidden Kin
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/3/2023
Henry Louis Gates explores the remarkable roots of actors Edward Norton and Julia Roberts—using DNA analysis and genealogical detective work to travel generations into the past, tracing lineages that run from Northern Europe to the American South. Along the way, Norton and Roberts reimagine their family stories and discover their hidden connections to our nation’s history—and each other.
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#5 - Family: Lost and Found
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/7/2023
Henry Louis Gates uses DNA detective work to solve family mysteries for actor Joe Manganiello and football star Tony Gonzalez— uncovering close relatives whose names they’ve never heard and compelling each man to rethink his own identity.
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#6 - Chosen
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/14/2023
Henry Louis Gates helps actors David Duchovny and Richard Kind trace their roots from Jewish communities in Eastern Europe to the United States—telling stories of triumph and tragedy that laid the groundwork for his guest’s success.
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#7 - Salem's Lot
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2023
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. Weaving together stories of soldiers, settlers, immigrants and entrepreneurs, Gates travels from World War I battlefields to Civil War prison camps to America’s most infamous witch hunt—offering his guests insight into what made them who they are today.
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#8 - And Still I Rise
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/21/2023
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the unexpected family trees of activist Angela Y. Davis and statesman Jeh Johnson, using DNA and long-lost records to redefine notions of the black experience—and challenge preconceptions of America’s past.
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#9 - Secret Lives
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/17/2023
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps comedians Carol Burnett and Niecy Nash decode scandals hidden within their roots, exposing secrets that their ancestors concealed and celebrating the virtue of accepting one’s relatives—whoever they may be.
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