Finding Your Roots - Season 9

Henry Louis Gates 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 and settlers, immigrants and entrepreneurs, Gates travels from World War One 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.

Henry Louis Gates helps comedians Carol Burnett and Niecy Nash decode scandals and secrets that have lain hidden within their roots for generations, revealing stories that their ancestors went to great lengths to conceal. Along the way, Gates and his guests also explore the larger meaning of family bonds-and celebrate the virtue of accepting one's relatives, whoever they may be.

Henry Louis Gates explores the family trees of pop star Cyndi Lauper and actors Jamie Chung and Danny Trejo, introducing them to ancestors whose stories were lost 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 history in a deeply personal way.

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.

Henry Louis Gates uses DNA detective work to solve haunting family mysteries for actor Joe Manganiello and football star Tony Gonzalez. Sifting through stories of the Armenian Genocide, the rise of Nazi Germany, the Jim Crow South, slavery, and the American Revolution, Gates unravels deep secrets and uncovers lost ancestors--compelling each of his guests to rethink their own identities.