Roots

Roots: The Saga of an American Family is an American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel of the same name. In January 1977, ABC premiered the series. Roots was nominated for 37 Primetime Emmy Awards and won nine of them. It also received a Golden Globe nomination and a Peabody Award.

Roots drew a record-breaking 100 million viewers, surpassing previous marks for a show that many said would fail. Slavery was a forbidden subject in every way; even mentioning its presence in front of a television audience was enough to bring the trouble. Roots not only depicted slavery, but it also gave every horrifying fact a face. For its mastery of storytelling and character, as well as its achievement in getting a country to properly atone for its past, even if for a little while, Roots has become a show of legend.

Detailed Information:

Genre: Historical drama

Directed by: Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, David Greene, Gilbert Moses

Starring: John Amos, Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett Jr.

No. of episodes: 8 (re-edited to 6 for video)