HISTORY, A&E and LIFETIME greenlight the scripted event series ROOTS for a new generation of viewers to simulcast on all three flagship brands; it was today announced by Dirk Hoogstra, EVP and General Manager, HISTORY. Will Packer (Ride Along, Think Like A Man) joins as executive producer and original ROOTS cast member and Emmy-award winning LeVar Burton boards as co-executive producer. Mark Wolper also serves as executive producer. ROOTS is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization. ROOTS is slated to air in 2016.
The classic miniseries ROOTS was a television phenomenon that had an indelible effect on American culture. A+E Networks and The Wolper Organization - the company that produced the original - are making a version of Alex Haley's American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. Lawrence Konner (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, Mona Lisa Smile, Planet of the Apes), Mark Rosenthal (Mona Lisa Smile, Planet of the Apes), Alison McDonald (Alpha House, Nurse Jackie) and Charles Murray (Sons Of Anarchy, Luke Cage) are writing. Vickie Thomas (Hateful Eight, Top Five, 42, Django Unchained) is casting director. ROOTS will be an original, contemporary production, incorporating more material from Haley's novel, ROOTS: The Saga of an American Family, as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time.
The networks also are already working closely with many prominent historians in the fields of African and African-American history, as well as diverse leaders from across the country, to use this powerful story to stimulate discussion and awareness about this important origin story that informs our American culture today.
ROOTS is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family's will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte who is captured in his homeland in The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America where he's sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history - including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta Kinte and the women and men who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.
"ROOTS was a groundbreaking television milestone that has had an enduring effect on American culture. We are privileged to be stewards of this universal story and will undertake its retelling with extreme care," said Hoogstra. "We are proud to bring this saga to fans of the original, as well as to a new generation that will experience this powerful and poignant tale for the first time. Audiences will once again feel the impact of Kunta Kinte's indomitable spirit."
"Kunta Kinte began telling his story over 200 years ago and that story went through his family lineage, to Alex Haley, to my father, and now the mantle rests with me," said Wolper. "Like Kunta Kinte fought to tell his story over and over again, so must we."
"The opportunity to present one of America's most powerful stories to a generation that hasn't seen it is tremendously exciting. Contemporary society needs this story and I'm proud to be a part of it," said Packer.
"My career began with ROOTS and I am proud to be a part of this new adaptation," said Burton. "There is a huge audience of contemporary young Americans who do not know the story of ROOTS or its importance. I believe now is the right time to tell this story so that we can all be reminded of its impact on our culture and identity."
ROOTS is an A+E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original ROOTS. Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Marc Wolper, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin Huggins are co-executive producers. Dirk Hoogstra, Julian P. Hobbs and Michael Stiller serve as Executives in Charge of Production for HISTORY. ROOTS is distributed internationally by A+E Networks under the A+E Studios International banner.
About HISTORY®
HISTORY®, now reaching more than 96 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network's all-original programming slate, including scripted event programming, features a roster of hit series including American Pickers®, American Restoration™, Ax Men™, Counting Cars™, Pawn Stars® and Swamp People® as well as HISTORY®'s first scripted series Vikings, and epic miniseries and special programming such as The Bible, The Men Who Built America, Houdini, SONS OF LIBERTY and the Emmy® Award-winning Hatfields & McCoys, Gettysburg, Vietnam in HD, America The Story of Us® and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY® website is the leading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States Library of Congress selected HISTORY®'s Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial. www.history.com.
About A&E Network
Now reaching more than 96 million homes, A&E is the home to quality original content that inspires and challenges audiences to BE ORIGINAL. A&E offers a diverse mix of uniquely immersive entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "Bates Motel" and "The Returned" to signature non-fiction franchises, including "Duck Dynasty," "Wahlburgers" and "Storage Wars." The A&E website is located at aetv.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/aetv and Facebook at facebook.com/AETV. About Lifetime
Lifetime is a premier female-focused entertainment destination dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. As a result of the network's aggressive programming strategy that has doubled the hours of its original programming, in 2014 the network reached its strongest ranking among the key Women 18-49 demo in six years and its youngest median age in 18 years. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.
About A+E Studios
A+E Studios is the studio unit of the award-winning global media company A+E Networks, LLC. A+E Studios creates, produces and distributes high quality scripted programming across all networks and platforms in the A+E Networks portfolio, including A&E Network, Lifetime, History, LMN, fyi, H2 and A&E IndieFilms. A+E Studios' slate of programming consists of scripted series, event series and movies, including "The Returned" for A&E Network, "UnREAL" for Lifetime and "Texas Rising," "Sons of Liberty," and "Houdini" for History, among others.
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