The WORST episodes of Finding Your Roots
Every episode of Finding Your Roots ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Finding Your Roots!
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.
#1 - Things We Don't Discuss
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/25/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. works with Pamela Adlon and Kathryn Hahn, two guests whose family trees were obscured by scandals, to discover the truth about their ancestors.
#3 - 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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#4 - 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.
#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.
#6 - 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.
#7 - 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.
#8 - 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.
#9 - 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.
#10 - 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.
#11 - Where Did We Come From?
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/19/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. journeys with Erin Burnett, Amy Carlson and André Leon Talley, three guests from diverse backgrounds, as they meet the ancestors who laid the groundwork for their success.
#12 - Watchmen
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/12/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. guides Regina King and Damon Lindelof, the creative forces behind a visionary television series, as they discover that they have more in common than meets the eye.
#15 - Fighters
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. sits down with Terry Crews and Tony Danza, both guests who overcame adversity, to discover they aren’t the first in their families to beat the odds through sheer force of will.
#16 - Mexican Roots
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/1/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the deep Mexican roots of talk show host Mario Lopez and comedian Melissa Villaseñor, uncovering ancestors stretching back to the 1500s. Weaving together stories of migratory farmers, Spanish Conquistadors and Native Americans, Gates conjures up personal histories of diverse, sometimes conflicting, elements.
#17 - Out of the Past
Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/4/2023
#18 - Children of Exile
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/4/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. retraces the ancestral journeys of David Chang and Raúl Esparza, whose families fled their homelands, leading them to find lost parts of themselves along the way.
#19 - Activists Roots
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. welcomes Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Anita Hill, two guests who made profound sacrifices for social justice, and helps them discover the ancestors who made sacrifices for them.
#20 - Hidden in the Genes
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/4/2022
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps Rebecca Hall and Lee Daniels solve family mysteries through DNA detective work, illuminating both history and their own identities.
#21 - Anchored to the Past
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/20/2021
Guests: Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examines how journalists Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon were able to overcome biases in their careers, drawing parallels to relatives who met profound challenges of their own.
#22 - On Broadway
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/27/2021
Guests: Audra MacDonald and Mandy Patinkin. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. investigates the family histories of Broadway stars Audra MacDonald and Mandy Patinkin, discovering ancestors whose struggles laid the groundwork for their success.
#23 - Laughing on the Inside
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 5/4/2021
Guests: Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. provides comedians Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr. with accounts of hardship in their family trees which may have led them to each find humor in adversity.
